Study: 4 in 10 U.S. adults deferred medical care due to COVID-19 worries

Sep 11, 2020 - 02:28 PM
cdc-update

A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study is revealing the extent to which adults are bypassing medical care because of their COVID-19-related concerns. According the authors, 41% of U.S. adults delayed or avoided medical care as of June 30. This includes urgent or emergency care (12%) and routine care (32%).

The trend was more prevalent among unpaid caregivers for adults, individuals with underlying medical conditions, Black adults, Hispanic adults, young adults, and individual with disabilities.

AHA has warned that such deferrals are putting lives at risk unnecessarily during the COVID-19 public health emergency and urges patients to seek necessary care, noting that many hospitals have posted information on their websites about how patients are protected from COVID-19 when they seek care.

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