Vaccination Status and Trends in Adult Coronavirus Disease 2019–Associated Hospitalizations by Race and Ethnicity: March 2020–August 2022
Clinical Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1093/cid/ciad266
- PMID
- 37132204
- PMCID
- PMC11019819
- OpenAlex
- W4367833784
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The findings underscore the continued need for strategies to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccination and treatment, as disparities in severe outcomes persist despite availability of these interventions.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study examined whether racial and ethnic disparities in severe COVID-19 outcomes persisted during the vaccination era in the United States.
Study design
Population-based surveillance analysis using COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network data from March 2020 through August 2022. Age-adjusted monthly rate ratios were calculated, and a random sample of patients from July 2021 through August 2022 was analyzed for hospitalization, ICU admission, and in-hospital mortality outcomes.
Population and setting
Adult patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in the United States (n=353,807), stratified by race and ethnicity including Hispanic, Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, and White persons.
Main findings
Hospitalization rates remained higher among Hispanic, Black, and AI/AN persons compared with White persons throughout the study period, but the magnitude of disparities declined over time. For example, the rate ratio for Hispanic persons decreased from 6.7 in June 2020 to a lower value by August 2022. Racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19-associated hospitalizations declined but persisted in the vaccination era.
Public-health relevance
The findings underscore the continued need for strategies to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccination and treatment, as disparities in severe outcomes persist despite availability of these interventions.
Important limitations
This summary relies on the supplied single-article abstract and metadata. The abstract does not provide explicit discussion of study limitations such as potential selection bias, data completeness, or confounding variables. The original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
The article was classified under COVID-19 and SARS diseases, United States geography, and surveillance, treatment, and vaccination topics. These links indicate the paper contributes epidemiologic evidence on COVID-19 health equity in the U.S. hospitalization surveillance context.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 12 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.