Accessibility to SARS-CoV-2 swab test during the Covid-19 pandemic: Did age make the difference?

ABSTRACT: Although COVID-19 affects older people more severely, health policies during the first wave of the pandemic often prioritized younger individuals. We investigated whether age had influenced the access to a diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2 infection and whether clinical complexity and healthcare resources availability could have impacted such differences. This work included 126,741 Italian participants in the EPICOVID19 web-based survey, who reported having had contacts with known/suspected COVID-19 cases (epidemiological criterion) and/or COVID-19-like signs/symptoms (clinical criterion) from February to June 2020. Data on sociodemographic, medical history and access to SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) were collected. Logistic regressions estimated the probability of accessing NPS as a f

SUBMITTER: Trevisan C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8492891 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature