Health equity necessitates the inclusion of gender identity data in COVID-19 clinical trials

Tara M Babu; Anna Wald; Arjee J Restar

doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2023.06.024

Health equity necessitates the inclusion of gender identity data in COVID-19 clinical trials

Ann Epidemiol. 2023 Sep:85:3-5. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2023.06.024. Epub 2023 Jun 28.

Authors

Tara M Babu¹, Anna Wald², Arjee J Restar³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle; Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle; Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle; Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.
³ Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle; Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.

Abstract

COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of studying differences by sex and gender. The under-reporting of gender identity in COVID-19 studies limits the generalizability of study results to nonbinary persons. Some of the data on sex-assigned associated complications of both COVID-19 infection and COVID-19 immunizations is presented in this manuscript.

Keywords: Gender disparity; Infectious diseases; Public health; Vaccine.