The novel coronavirus has infected more than 400,000 Americans and killed almost 15,000 in the nation. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams is on the front lines of efforts trying to convey a message to the nation to continue social distancing and proper hygiene to "flatten the curve." President Donald Trump nominated Adams, who previously served as Indiana's state health commissioner under then-governor Mike Pence, for surgeon general in 2017. He is the fourth African American to hold the position.And now Adams, 45, is facing perhaps the biggest challenge of his career as the novel coronavirus continues to spread throughout the country and reveals itself to be a particular threat to African Americans. Reports from Chicago show that black people account for more than 70% of all COVID-19-related deaths and more than 50% of total cases in the city, while making up only 32% of the population. Louisiana reports a similar figure, while only 32% of the state's residents are black. In Milwaukee, where blacks comprise only 26% of residents, the numbers mirror Chicago's data. As a result of these findings, many, including Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, are calling for national tracking of virus infection rates and deaths by race.Without the proper demographic data "…it will be impossible for practitioners and policy makers to address disparities in health outcomes and inequities in access to testing and treatment as they emerge," she and Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on March 30. In the face of the data and calls for a federal response, Adams acknowledges that African Americans are much more vulnerable to COVID-19 due to health disparities and historic racism around housing, education and employment. Adams says he is now focusing on formulating a federal response to address the problem. Adams spoke with BET exclusively about the impact of race on the pandemic's spread, what communities of color can do to protect themselves and why even he's concerned about his own children wearing masks in public. Here is an excerpt from our interview with U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.