Vulnerable populations

This blog from the Petrie-Flom Center’s Bill of Health argues that many state guidelines for the rationing of scarce resources during a public health emergency disadvantage and devalue the lives of persons with disabilities. Most scarce resource allocation guidelines prioritize Read More

This Viewpoint discusses the long history of racial inequities that cause black populations in US cities to bear a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 illness and mortality and calls for a renewed commitment to eliminating disparities that have been made so Read More

This advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines a 5 step process for protecting residents, families and staff. The steps are as follows: Keep COVID-19 from entering your facility: Restrict all visitors except for compassionate care situations Read More

This story describes how hundreds of prisoners and staff in the federal prison systems have contracted the Coronavirus, resulting in Justice Department inspection to assess facility compliance with mitigation best practices. The review will cover Bureau of Prisons facilities, halfway Read More

This review from Kaiser Health News discusses various approaches cities and states are taking to reduce the risks of COVID-19 outbreaks in incarcerated populations. As jails and prisons house populations in settings that do not lend themselves to reducing exposure Read More

This report describes the prevalence and charactierstics of COVID-19 cases emerging from a single large homeless shelter in Boston, MA. Findings illustrate the rapidity with which COVID-19 can be widely transmitted in a homeless shelter setting and suggest that universal Read More

This study evaluated the distribution of COVID-19-related fatalities by age groups in Europe as of April 6, 2020. Their finding that people under 40 years of age represent a small fraction of the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in Europe Read More

This article reports on a recent Boston city council meeting at which councilors urged local hospitals and health authorities that may be forced to allocate scarce critical care resources to consider the impact of systemic racism on the prevalence of Read More

This op-ed argues that prioritizing patients based on who is most likely to benefit, the most commonly used approach to rationing scarce resources, inherently disadvantages groups who already experience worse health due to historical and structural factors. Rationing crucial resources Read More

This forthcoming article assesses challenges for rural communities and rural hospitals, which often face limitations and disparities in health care workforce and resources, in responding to COVID-19 and potential scarcity of critical care resources.  Rural communities include 20% of the Read More