How has the current U.S. health care infrastructure exacerbated health inequities along race, class, and gender lines during the COVID-19 pandemic?

1. The COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated many of the themes we discussed in class. Drawing from the class readings, lectures, and, if necessary, some outside sources, please answer the following question: How has the current U.S. health care infrastructure exacerbated health inequities along race, class, and gender lines during the COVID-19 pandemic? To answer this question, you need to a. establish race, class, and gender inequities of COVID-19 in the US, both for disease incidence and mortality; b. examine how these inequities map onto existing health outcomes; c. draw from the fundamental cause of disease theory to suggest some mechanisms by which some people are at higher risk for COVID-19 morbidity and mortality; and d. explain how and why countries such as Canada, Germany, and the UK face different COVID-related challenges due to their different health care systems.2. Drawing from examples from at least 5 different chapters (using quotes) from The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, explain how the conflict between the Lee family and the physicians in Merced-Fresno affect differences in opinion about a. Lia’s diagnosis; b. Lia’s treatment; c. Lia’s prognosis once she becomes comatose. Also, explain how these conflicts can be explained by d. opposing cultural beliefs and e. structural differences (specifically related to power and institutions). Finally, f. give your personal opinion of the single most important policy change that can be implemented to avoid such conflicts.