Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
As the first wave of the COVID pandemic washed across the world, it left devastation in its wake – devastation that was persistently most acute among disadvantaged people and in marginalized communities. COVID made obvious what many already knew: Inequity—whether because of race, culture, skin color, income or caste—can be lethal.