Emergency department visits for COVID-19 by race and ethnicity \u2014 13 states, October\u2013December 2020

What is already known about this topic? Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Black persons have higher rates of hospitalization and death attributable to COVID-19 than do White persons.What is added by this report? Data from 13 states indicate that compared with White persons, Hispanic and American Indian or Alaska Native persons experienced 1.7 times the rate, and Black persons experienced 1.4 times the rate of emergency department care visits for COVID-19 during October\u2013December 2020.What are the implications for public health practice? Emergency department COVID-19 visit data can provide insight into ongoing areas of racial/ethnic inequity in health status and disease outcomes and can be used to prioritize Prevention resources, including COVID-19 vaccination, to reach disproportionately affected groups.Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic), non-Hispanic Black or African American (Black), and non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons have experienced disproportionately higher rates of hospitalization and death attributable to COVID-19 than have non-Hispanic White (White) persons (1\u20134). Emergency care data offer insight into COVID-19 incidence; however, differences in use of emergency department (ED) services for COVID-19 by racial and ethnic groups are not well understood. These data, most of which are recorded within 24 hours of the visit, might be an early indicator of changing patterns in disparities. Using ED visit data from 13 states obtained from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (U.S.) (NSSP), CDC assessed the number of ED visits with a COVID-19 discharge Diagnosis code per 100,000 population during October\u2013December 2020 by age and race/ethnicity. Among 5,794,050 total ED visits during this period, 282,220 (4.9%) were for COVID-19. Racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 ED visit rates were observed across age groups. Compared with White persons, Hispanic, AI/AN, and Black persons had significantly more COVID-19\u2013related ED visits overall (rate ratio [RR] range = 1.39\u20131.77) and in all age groups through age 74 years; compared with White persons aged 6575 years, Hispanic and AI/AN persons also had more COVID-19\u2013related ED visits (RR = 1.91 and 1.22, respectively). These differences in ED visit rates suggest ongoing racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 incidence and can be used to prioritize Prevention resources, including COVID-19 vaccination, to reach disproportionately affected communities and reduce the need for emergency care for COVID-19.Suggested citation for this article: Smith AR, DeVies J, Caruso E, et al. Emergency Department Visits for COVID-19 by Race and Ethnicity \u2014 13 States, October\u2013December 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 12 April 2021.mm7015e3.htm?s_cid=mm7015e3_wmm7015e3-H.pd