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Topic: Public Health Policy and Practice
May 25, 2021
Socioeconomic and Racial Inequities in Breast Cancer Screening During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Washington State
Breast cancer screening declined by 49% in Washington State during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-pandemic screening, according to an analysis of completed mammograms within a large non-profit community health care system. 55,678 screenings were conducted between April to December 2019 whereas only 27,522 screenings occurred during the same period in 2020. Greater declines in…
May 24, 2021
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chlamydia and Gonorrhea Screening in the U.S.
Chlamydia and gonorrhea testing in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic were at their lowest during April 2020, with decreases of 59% among female and 63% among male patients relative to baseline levels. Declines in testing were strongly associated with increases in weekly positivity rates for chlamydia (R2=0.96) and gonorrhea (R2=0.85). The study estimates that…
Mortality From Drug Overdoses, Homicides, Unintentional Injuries, Motor Vehicle Crashes, and Suicides During the Pandemic, March-August 2020
An analysis of excess mortality in the US during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March – August 2020) found higher-than-expected deaths due to drug overdoses (n = 10,443 excess deaths), homicides (n = 2,014), and unintentional injuries (n = 7,497), and lower-than-expected numbers of suicides (n = 2,432 fewer deaths). Drug overdoses…
Public Health and Health Systems Impacts of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern A Rapid Scoping Review
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A rapid review of the B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1 SARS-CoV-2 variants (n=37 studies and 21 guidance documents) found evidence for potential increased risks of hospitalization and death associated with the B.1.1.7 variant. While six studies in the review found higher mortality risk associated with B.1.1.7, ranging from 15-67%, three found no differences….
Childhood Immunization during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Texas
Childhood immunization rates in Texas declined by 47% between 2019 and 2020 among 5-month-olds, along with a 58% decline among 16-month-olds. Small decreases (5%) occurred among 24-month-olds, and there was no decline in vaccines received at birth (i.e., Hepatitis B). Decreases tended to be larger in rural than urban counties. The authors note that these…
May 21, 2021
Excess Deaths Associated with Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020: Age and Sex Disaggregated Time Series Analysis in 29 High Income Countries
A time series study of excess deaths in 29 high income countries (including the US) found that nearly 1 million excess deaths occurred in 2020. These excess deaths exceed officially reported deaths from COVID-19 in many countries, suggesting that analysis of excess deaths is needed to determine the full impact of the pandemic on mortality….
COVID-19 and Excess Mortality in the United States: A County-Level Analysis
An ecological, cross-sectional analysis of 2020 US county-level (N=2,096) National Center for Health Statistics data on COVID-19 and all-cause mortality found that direct COVID-19 death counts substantially underestimated total excess mortality attributable to COVID-19. The authors calculated total excess deaths as the proportion of deaths that occurred beyond the expected number of deaths based on…
Clinical, Behavioural and Social Factors Associated with Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Patients from an Integrated Healthcare System in Georgia: A Retrospective Cohort Study
A retrospective cohort study of Kaiser Permanente Georgia members with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 (N=5,712) found Black (OR=1.4) and Hispanic (OR=1.6) members had higher odds of hospitalization, but not mortality, compared to white and Asian members. Additionally, a higher proportion of members diagnosed with COVID-19 were Black or Hispanic, compared to white or Asian (58% vs 9%)….
May 19, 2021
Community Factors Associated With Telemedicine Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Telemedicine visits comprised 20% of total outpatient visits early in the COVID-19 pandemic (from March 18 to July 14, 2020), according to an analysis of deidentified medical claims data. Across 2,800 US counties with at least 100 Medicare Advantage enrollees, less telemedicine use (below the median) was observed in counties with a lower median income,…
May 17, 2021
Significant Impact of COVID-19 on HIV Care in Hospitals Affecting the First Pillar of the HIV Care Continuum
A study evaluating COVID-19 restrictions in the Netherlands between January and June 2020 found disruptions in clinical HIV care. During lockdown (March 16th through May 31st), there was a significant reduction in the weekly number of HIV tests. The proportion of individuals newly diagnosed with HIV was also lower during lockdown, with a higher proportion…
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