Did COVID-19 death disparities shrink in the US from 2020 to 2021?

The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic hit some communities far harder than others, exposing deep and painful health inequities. A new report looking at the United States population now shows those disparities in death rates decreased among most racial and ethnic groups when comparing 2020 to 2021. This is an observational report, not a controlled study, so it can't tell us what caused the change—whether it was better access to vaccines, changes in policy, or other factors. The report also doesn't provide specific numbers on how much the gaps closed or whether the trend held for every single group, leaving important questions about the full picture and the path forward.