In December 2019, a novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2, emerged in Wuhan, China, causing the Coronavirus disease 2019 we now refer to as COVID-19. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 12th, 2020. In the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed pre-existing social and health disparities among several historically vulnerable populations, with stark differences in the proportion of minority individuals diagnosed with and dying from COVID-19. In this article we will describe the emerging disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the Hispanic/Latinx (henceforth: Hispanic or Latinx) community in the U.S., discuss potential antecedents and consider strategies to address the disparate impact of COVID-19 on this population.

The increasing diversity in the US population is reflected in the patients who healthcare professionals treat. Unfortunately, this diversity is not always represented by the demographic characteristics of healthcare professionals themselves. Patients from underrepresented groups in the United States can experience the effects of unintentional cognitive (unconscious) biases that derive from cultural stereotypes in ways that perpetuate health inequities. Unconscious bias can also affect healthcare professionals in many ways, including patient-clinician interactions, hiring and promotion, and their own interprofessional interactions. The strategies described in this article can help us recognize and mitigate unconscious bias and can help create an equitable environment in healthcare, including the field of infectious diseases.

Since the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, significant racial and ethnic inequities have persisted across the continuum of COVID-19 morbidity, hospitalization, and mortality. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have estimated that COVID-19 case and hospitalization rates are at least 2.5 and 4.5 times higher, respectively, among Black, Hispanic, and Native American populations than among White populations. 1 Black individuals have died from COVID-19 at more than twice the rate as White individuals. 1 Area-based studies have similarly

Globally, the USA has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, 1 and still needs to simultaneously respond to another looming potential pandemic. The rise in multidrug-resistant bacterial infections that are undetected, undiagnosed, and increasingly untreatable threatens the health of people in the USA and globally. In 2020 and beyond, we cannot afford to ignore antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Bacterial infections unsuccessfully treated due to AMR claim at least 700 000 lives per year worldwide and are Confronting antimicrobial resistance beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 US election These emergencies arise in the context of the larger global climate emergency. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the window for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to avoid catastrophic climate change is rapidly closing. 22 Similarly, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services warns that there is only a short time to act on threats to biodiversity. 23 Continued reliance on fossil fuels, destruction of ecosystems, dissemination of persistent toxic chemicals, and other environmental depredations-many of them permitted, if not promoted, during the Trump presidency-are incon sistent with a healthy future for humanity. The alternative is a transition to ways of living that protect both natural systems and the health of current and future generations. This path requires new approaches to generating energy, producing and consuming food, chemicals, and other manufactured goods, travelling, and designing and building cities. The vast public investments some governments are making during the COVID-19 pandemic could spur this transition, 24 and US leadership could be catalytic. The outcome of the US election will have far-reaching consequences for planetary health.

The COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled unsettling disparities in the outcome of the disease among African Americans. These disparities are not new, but are rooted in structural inequities that must be addressed to adequately care for communities of color. We describe the historical context of these structural inequities, their impact on the progression of COVID-19 in the African American (Black) community, and suggest a multifaceted approach to addressing these healthcare disparities. Of note, terminology from survey data cited for this article varied from Blacks, African Americans or both; for consistency, we use African Americans throughout.