CDC sees racial disparities in COVID treatment

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report revealing persistent racial disparities in COVID-19 treatment. Between April and July 2022, the percentage of COVID-19 patients aged 20 and older treated with Paxlovid was 36% and 30% lower among Black and Hispanic patients compared with white and non-Hispanic patients, respectively. The CDC called for the expansion of programs to raise awareness of and access to available Paxlovid treatment to help protect people at high risk for severe illness from COVID-19 and to accelerate equitable health outcomes. The CDC study used electronic health record data from nearly 700,000 COVID-19 patients at 30 sites, each representing one or more health care systems participating in the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network. (CDC report, 10/28/22)