Updated: Tuesday, January 12, 2021 - 7:16am Storyblocks The longstanding gaps in public health, health care delivery and health insurance systems that worsened COVID-19's impact remain — and could leave the U.S. vulnerable to the next pandemic. The halting progress of coronavirus vaccines has injected a few CCs of hope into the pandemic's ongoing awfulness. But the same longstanding gaps in public health, health care delivery and health insurance systems that worsened COVID-19's impact remain — and could leave the U.S. vulnerable to the next pandemic. ▮ ▮ ▮ ▮ ▮ Part 1: Holes In The Dike When a pandemic floods American shores, the U.S. relies on scientific experts and public health officials to work the proverbial pumps and fill the figurative sandbags. That goes double for those who live, learn, work and play in the nation's vulnerable socioeconomic lowlands.