Pediatric COVID-19 Health Disparities and Vaccine Equity
Overview
Pediatrics
Affiliations
While most children with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) experience mild illness, some are vulnerable to severe disease and develop long-term complications. Children with disabilities, those from lower-income homes, and those from racial and ethnic minority groups are more likely to be hospitalized and to have poor outcomes following an infection. For many of these same children, a wide range of social, economic, and environmental disadvantages have made it more difficult for them to access COVID-19 vaccines. Ensuring vaccine equity in children and decreasing health disparities promotes the common good and serves society as a whole. In this article, we discuss how the pandemic has exposed long-standing injustices in historically marginalized groups and provide a summary of the research describing the disparities associated with COVID-19 infection, severity, and vaccine uptake. Last, we outline several strategies for addressing some of the issues that can give rise to vaccine inequity in the pediatric population.
COVID-19 Vaccination and Odds of Post-COVID-19 Condition Symptoms in Children Aged 5 to 17 Years.
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PMID: 39992656 PMC: 11851240. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.59672.
Pediatric Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir Prescribing Patterns During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
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PMID: 39076115 PMC: 11287060. DOI: 10.1542/hpeds.2023-007132.
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PMID: 38901776 PMC: 11499042. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.114157.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Child Health, and the Pediatric Subspecialty Workforce.
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PMID: 38300010 PMC: 10852199. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2023-063678S.