(1) ROCKVILLE, MD / ACCESSWIRE / January 8, 2021 / The American Kidney Fund (AKF) is calling on President-elect Joseph R. Biden, Jr. to prioritize our country's kidney disease epidemic by focusing on policies that address health disparities, and protect and expand access to affordable, high-quality health coverage. Kidney disease and kidney failure, also known as end-stage renal disease (ESRD), have a disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minorities. Compared to white Americans, Black Americans are 3.4 times more likely to develop kidney failure, Native Americans are 1.9 times more likely and Asian Americans are 1.3 times more likely. Additionally, people of Hispanic ethnicity are 1.5 times more likely to develop kidney failure than non-Hispanics. These statistics-and more importantly the people they represent-have come into sharper focus as COVID-19 continues to spread across the country, with those same communities facing higher rates of hospitalizations and mortality during the pandemic. People with underlying kidney disease and ESRD are at higher risk for COVID-19 and death related to the disease. Additionally, COVID-19 itself can cause kidney damage.