The Association Between Black vs. White Race and 30-Day Hospitalization Among People Diagnosed with COVID-19 Within an Integrated Care Setting: A Cohort Study
Harding JL, Doucet N, Patel SA, Davis TL, McDonald B, Goldberg B, Patzer RE, Walker-Williams D, Jagannathan R, Teunis L, Gander JC
Black Americans are more likely to experience hospitalization from COVID-19 compared with White Americans. This study looked at the association between race and hospitalization within 30 days of a COVID-19 diagnosis. We examined the electronic medical records of Kaiser Permanente Georgia members diagnosed with COVID-19 from January 1, 2020‒September 30, 2021. Overall, 11% of Black members were hospitalized within 30 days of diagnosis, compared with 9% of White members. Factors that could have the largest impact on race-based disparities disproportionately burdening Black members were obesity, receipt of a flu vaccine, and neighborhood-level social determinants of health. These findings suggest that social determinants of health may be drivers of racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes.