A year into the coronavirus pandemic that is disproportionately ravaging African American lives both physically and economically, efforts are underway to target racism as a public health crisis that shortens lives and costs millions of dollars.“Systemic racism defines the Black experience in our nation,” said Virginia Democratic State Delegate Lashrecse Aird, who co-sponsored a resolution approved by lawmakers in February that makes Virginia the first state in the South to declare racism a public health crisis.“It provides the framework for all of us to formally and finally reckon with those …

The United States and other wealthy countries are standing in the way of low- and middle-income countries seeking better access to COVID-19 vaccines, health-equity advocates say.South Africa and India have led an effort at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive drug companies’ exclusive rights to manufacture their vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic.Countries with major pharmaceutical industries, including the United States, several European countries and Japan, have opposed the waiver. WTO, the global trade regulating body, operates by consensus, so the proposal fails without unanimous support.“It is shameful that U.S. …