County-Level Sociodemographic Characteristics and Availability of COVID-19 Therapeutic Drugs

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2809728?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery An NIMHD-funded study investigating the availability of COVID-19 therapeutics across the U.S. found that there were disparities in access to these drugs. Counties with high rates of people living below the federal poverty line, individuals without health insurance, and populations with a high social vulnerability index had lower access to treatment. This was also the case for counties with high numbers of Black individuals. The findings were published in JAMA on Wednesday, September 20. The study was co-authored by NIH’s Stadtman Invesigator, Dr. Kosuke Tamura, who heads the Socio-Spatial Determinants of Health (SSDH) Laboratory in the Division of Intramural Research at NIMHD.