Five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this issue of *La Santé en action* sheds light on social and regional health inequalities in the context of research published on the health crisis. This period—and lockdowns in particular—has exacerbated inequalities in living and working conditions across social groups, regions, genders, and age groups. Initiatives taken by frontline workers to test and vaccinate have demonstrated the importance of reaching out to vulnerable populations, those furthest removed from the healthcare system. This is one of the lessons from this unprecedented crisis, calling for the implementation of socially differentiated public policies that are more inclusive and protective.