To defeat COVID-19, don't only treat the patient, treat the neighborhood

African American and Latino communities have been hit hard by the disease.

ABC News.

"That makes sense, since zip codes often tell us the number and level of resources within a neighborhood as well as the quality of care available to its residents. In brief, people who live in poorer zip codes have fewer health resources and poorer health outcomes. One of the issues that we need to consider in moving forward during recovery is identifying the core elements in an unhealthy environment that activate a sense of danger or, conversely, protect against harmful effects of chronic neighborhood stressors that we know impact progression of chronic disease and health outcomes.

The COVID-19 pandemic requires flexibility, new ways of thinking and swift action. If we really want to save lives and prevent rampant and widespread infection, we’ll stop treating individual patients and start treating the neighborhoods where they live."

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> Building Healthy Communities. A Tale of Two Zip Codes, The California Endowment