Reuters (6/22, Mishra) reports researchers at the CDC found “fewer Americans were admitted to emergency departments with life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic.” According to the CDC report, when comparing ED visits 10 weeks after the national emergency declaration to 10 weeks before, ED visits for heart attacks decreased 23%, ED visits for strokes decreased 20%, and ED visits for hyperglycemic crisis decreased 10%.
The Hill (6/22, Hellmann) reports the CDC report said, “The substantial reduction in [emergency department] visits for these life-threatening conditions might be explained by many pandemic-related factors including fear of exposure to COVID-19, unintended consequences of public health recommendations to minimize non-urgent health care, stay-at-home orders, or other reasons.” The CDC report added, “The finding suggests that patients with these conditions either could not access care or were delaying or avoiding seeking care during the early pandemic period.”
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