Pandemics' historical role in creating inequality

In her News Feature "An unequal blow" (15 May, p. 700), L. Wade explores how past pandemics disproportionately affected marginalized groups. It is important to recognize that in addition to exacerbating marginalization, pandemics set the stage for inequalities that have persisted for centuries (1). Historically, pathogens introduced by European conquistadors and colonists contributed to Indigenous population collapses throughout the Americas, facilitating colonial exploitation (2). Abrupt declines in the health and size of Indigenous populations, socio-cultural dislocation, and opportunistic grabs for resources became a strategy used by successive colonial governments (3). As scientists, we have a role in dismantling this colonial playbook to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from further marginalizing Indigenous communities.