https://www.wired.com/story/h1n1-crisis-predicted-covid-19-toll-black-americans/ > Eleven years ago, the H1N1 or “swine flu” pandemic tore through the US, hitting communities of color especially hard. Compared with white patients, nonwhite patients got sicker faster, recovered more slowly, and died at higher rates. > Epidemiologists who studied the outbreak identified key reasons for the disparities: Nonwhite workers had less access to sick leave, making self-quarantine difficult, even though they were more likely to be immunocompromised. Their environments contributed to elevated risk of other health problems, including hypertension, heart disease, and asthma, that aggravated the flu’s symptoms.