E-Mail IMAGE: Tim Liao, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign sociology professor, led a study that examined the association between social and economic inequalities in U.S. counties and COVID-19 infections and deaths. Economic... view more Credit: Photo courtesy Tim Liao CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- U.S. counties with higher income inequality faced higher rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths in the first 200 days of the pandemic, according to a new study. Counties with higher proportions of Black or Hispanic residents also had higher rates, the study found, reinforcing earlier research showing the disparate effects of the virus on those communities. The findings, published last week by