The presenters will address public health law and policy and complex legal and ethical issues that have arisen in connection with ageism during the COVID pandemic, and in particular, as such issues concern the needs of older women and older people of color. Both U.S. policy and the global experience will be explored, drawing on the perspectives of the AARP Reframing Aging Project and its focus on ageism. Allocation of resource decisions during the pandemic will be examined both in the contexts of macro-level policy, as well as at provider systems and practitioner levels. Strategies for strengthening equity and mitigating suffering for populations of older women and older people of color during pandemics will be presented, including development and implementation of public health approaches to palliative care.