Opinion: Treatments for flu, COVID-19 and RSV are effective, but not all communities benefit equally [Opinion]
With flu and RSV at unusually high levels and a surge in COVID-19 cases expected soon, the health care system is being tested.Although each virus is unique, they all affect vulnerable populations disproportionately. Influenza can cause a severe respiratory illness particularly in the young and elderly, but we have safe and effective vaccines and antiviral treatments.
We should all be familiar with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 that has so unceremoniously interrupted our lives for the past three years. COVID-19 vaccines are safe and highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death. Likewise, an array of evidence-based anti-viral treatments are now available, and, when used within five days of symptoms, minimize the severity of disease, prevent hospitalizations and save lives.
However, if the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that not all communities benefit equally from these protective measures. San Diego County public health data show that from the onset of the pandemic, Latinos have had higherthan non-Hispanic White San Diegans.
But a closer look at the data suggests that these disparities may be lessening. When calculated for the most recent three months, disparities in case rates and hospitalizations are narrower between Latino and non-Hispanic White people. A county analysis of age-adjusted death rates in Latino and White people during the delta and early omicron variants waves has shown smaller disparities during the most recent late omicron variant wave.
What might explain this unexpected trend? Some speculate that successful equity-focused public vaccination and treatment campaigns
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