The health inequities that have long plagued the U.S. were highlighted and worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic. Low-income and minoritized populations, such as Black and Hispanic Americans, are not only at greater risk of infection, hospitalization, and death from the disease, but they are also up to twice as likely to develop chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
The roots of these disparities are deep and complex. But one of them that bears highlighting is the extent to which regulatory approval pathways affect how medical research is conducted in the U.S.