COVID-19 double jeopardy: the overwhelming impact of the social determinants of health.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has strained healthcare systems by creating a tragic imbalance between needs and resources. Governments and healthcare organizations have adapted to this pronounced scarcity by applying allocation guidelines to facilitate life-or-death decision-making, reduce bias, and save as many lives as possible. However, we argue that in societies beset by longstanding inequities, these approaches fall short as mortality patterns for historically discriminated against communities have been disturbingly higher than in the general population.

Methods

We review attack and fatality rates; survey allocation protocols designed to deal with the extreme scarcity characteristic of the earliest phases of the pandemic; and highlight the larger ethical perspectives

SUBMITTER: Badalov E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9129892 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature