Racial and gender-biased testing and treatment of persons of color has led to more significant proportions of black and brown persons dying of COVID-19, reported The Times UK.
Devices designed for white people can give inaccurate readings when applied to black, brown or Asian patients. Britain’s Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid has ordered a review of medical devices used to treat patients of COVID-19 to ascertain their effectiveness in diagnosing and treating people of color. US Secretary of Health and Human Services Javier Becerra has joined the UK secretary in introducing new international standards to ensure that medical devices have been tested on all races before they are allowed to be sold. The review will include a comparison of gender-based results.
Many factors contribute to the disparity in health outcomes for COVID-19 patients in minority communities, including diabetes, access to care, inadequate diet and other health challenges. This review will address devices in particular. Javid used oximeters, used to measure blood oxygen levels, as an example. The device is attached to a finger and measures how much light is absorbed by the tissue. Test results for darker-skinned patients may show erroneous readings of safe oxygen levels rather than dangerously low. Based on these results, potentially life-saving treatments could be delayed or not administered at all.
Javid has enlisted Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and officials in other countries to address disparities and eliminate bias in health care. The review in the UK will complete its review by the end of January.
Britain has recorded more than 143,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest total in Europe after Russia. The New York Times reported that COVID-19 deaths in the US had reached 800,000.
