Week of April 12, 2021

This episode discusses six MMWR COVID-19 reports. One describes how leaving the middle seat vacant on airplanes could reduce exposure to COVID-19. Two describe higher proportions of emergency department visits and hospitalizations among people from racial and ethnic minority groups. The fourth report shows that U.S. emergency department visits during the pandemic included a larger proportion of patients seeking care for mental and behavioral health concerns. Another report underscores that over half a million more people than expected died in the U.S. during the past year. The last report shows that the during the COVID pandemic, there were almost no emergency department visits in the United States for influenza.