Observational study finds racial disparities in COVID-19 emergency department visit rates

An observational study analyzed emergency department data from 13 states during October through December 2020 to examine rates of ED visits for COVID-19 by race and ethnicity. The study compared visit rates for Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Black persons to those of White persons. The main finding was that Hispanic and American Indian or Alaska Native persons experienced 1.7 times the rate of ED visits for COVID-19 compared with White persons. Black persons experienced 1.4 times the rate compared with White persons. The study did not report absolute numbers, p-values, confidence intervals, or the specific exposures or interventions that might explain these differences. Safety and tolerability data were not reported. Key limitations include the observational nature of the data, which precludes causal inference, and the uncertain generalizability of findings beyond the 13 states and the specific 3-month time period studied. Funding sources and conflicts of interest were not reported. For clinical practice, this analysis identifies concerning disparities in healthcare utilization during the pandemic. However, clinicians should interpret these relative rate differences cautiously, as the underlying drivers—which could include differences in infection rates, access to outpatient care, or other social determinants—were not examined.