In this special edition of Ethics Talk, Dr Uché Blackstock joins us to discuss COVID-19 morbidity and mortality outcomes inequity by race and what needs to change now and postpandemic. Transcript available.

Dr Kathryn Olivarius talks about the impact of yellow fever outbreaks on the antebellum South and how this past can inform how we view the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bobby Watts, MPH, MS, CPH, talks about ways to address the health needs of homeless people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Being marked as an “other” outside of the circle of human concern expresses tension between principles of liberty and equality and exacerbates health inequity.

Patients who use drugs intravenously may be at high risk for relapse, but their situation is no more futile than that of persons with diabetes and coronary artery disease who smoke and frequent all-you-can-eat buffets.

COVID-19 underscores historical precedent for fear-driven responses that disregard autonomy among persons with low income who are also persons of color.

Ethical obligations to address racial health inequity in American life exist now, just as they did in 1865.

The opioid crisis, maternal death, and COVID-19 underscore trust as foundational to public health and call for redefinition of what it means to be a US clinician.

Deception’s justifiability might depend on clinicians’ commitment to solidarity and awareness of social determinants of patients’ vulnerability to HIV infection.

Ending AIDS requires normalizing justice-based approaches to HIV care and acknowledging how power dynamics shape popular narratives and practices.