Health Equity Principles for State and Local Leaders in Responding to, Reopening and Recovering from COVID-19

This commentary provides state and local leaders with health equity principles that can serve as a compass to point leaders toward an equitable and lasting COVID-19 recovery.

• Collect, analyze, and report data disaggregated by age, race, ethnicity, gender, disability, neighborhood, and other sociodemographic characteristics.
• Include in decision-making the people most affected by health and economic challenges, and benchmark progress based on their outcomes.
• Establish and empower teams dedicated to promoting racial equity in response and recovery efforts.
• Proactively identify and address existing policy gaps while advocating for further federal support.
• Invest in strengthening public health, health care, and social infrastructure to foster resilience.