Coronavirus: A developing frontier for the research and implementation of equitable health resources
The sudden onset of COVID-19, an RNA virus with acute respiratory symptoms, and its successive escalation has established a new frontier that demonstrates the lack of an equitable division of healthcare resources. The inequality in detection and treatment for the coronavirus within the United States has furthered the need for an ethical and dynamic model of treatment efficacy and equality apparent [1].
Within the population of the United States a disparity in coronavirus detection and treatment exists as members of minority communities continue to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic [2]. “…the same mechanisms that pattern the geographical distribution of COVID-19 mortality also operate to produce racial/ethnic inequities in mortality… structural racism has determined the distribution of Black, Latinx, and Native American communities and is a key mechanism that produces and maintains inequities in infectious disease outcomes.” [2].
The inequality of healthcare accessibility is clearly being exhibited on a national level.
This inequity can be found in a broader context when we consider the distribution of resources across countries. In order for lower-income countries to mitigate the effects of epidemics and pandemics, it is imperative that wealthier developed countries start sharing resources such as medications, vaccines, detection and economic infrastructures [3]. “For LMICs to develop long-term policies to manage infection rates, restriction levels, and economic activity, they will need substantial resources from HICs and multilateral organizations. These include suspending the burden of debt services, mobilizing global solidarity to keep populations out of misery, and sharing the vital medical public goods required to mitigate the health effects of COVID-19,” [3].
GHI is a critical measure which has produced models that can be used in maximizing resources for global health. This model “… estimates disease impact in the absence of treatment using data on drug effectiveness (or, barring that, efficacy), disease incidence, patient treatment coverage, and the global burden of disease that remains after treatment” [4].
This multifaceted and dynamic model allows for an accountable division of medicines, vaccines, and treatments for deadly diseases. In the consideration of the current prevalence of coronavirus, the development and distribution of a vaccine is a vital step. GHI provides an essential foundation for the future management of treatment accessibility.
In the past, the distribution of vaccinations has not benefited all persons. In the example of Hepatitis B, “...these vaccines were virtually absent from NIPs (national immunization programs) in most low and middle income countries. As a result, there were large between-country inequities in rates of vaccine-preventable disease when comparing high income and lower income countries” [5]. GHI works to minimize the discrepancy in accessibility to healthcare between countries.
GHI works to promote the division of all health resources, medicines, vaccines, and treatments in the most efficient manner possible. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, GHI is an important basis for continued momentum in relief efforts of all diseases that disproportionately affect lower income countries, as well as the future course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
References:
[1] Cascella, M., Rajnik, M., Cuomo, A., et al. Features, Evaluation, and Treatment of
Coronavirus (COVID-19). NCBI.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/ NBK554776/. Published August 10, 2020. Accessed October 16, 2020.
[2] Cowger, T.L., Davis, B.A., Etkins, O.S., et al. Comparison of Weighted and Unweighted
Population Data to Assess Inequities in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Deaths by Race/Ethnicity Reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. JAMA Network. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.16933. Published July 28, 2020. Accessed October 16, 2020.
[3] Vigo, D., Thornicroft, G., Gureje, O. The Differential Outcomes of Coronavirus Disease
2019 in Low- and Middle-Income Countries vs High-Income Countries. JAMA Psychiatry. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.2174. Published June 11, 2020. Accessed October 16, 2020.
[4] Hassoun, N. Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and Human Rights to Health:
Evaluating Global Health Impact and Increasing Access to Essential Medicines. United Nations Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Access to Medicines. http://www.unsgaccessmeds.org /inbox/2016/2/16/contribution-hassoun. Published February 17, 2016. Accessed October 16, 2020.
[5] Gandhi, G. (2015). Charting the evolution of approaches employed by the Global
Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) to address inequities in access to immunization: a systematic qualitative review of GAVI policies, strategies and resource allocation mechanisms through an equity lens. BMC Public Health, 15, 1198. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-2521-8. Accessed October 16, 2020.
