Racial Disparities in Hesitancy and Utilization of Monoclonal Antibody Infusion Treatment of COVID-19: Lessons for Future Pandemics

Background and Methods: We conducted a single-center cross-sectional study to investigate racial disparities in the hesitancy and utilization of monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment of COVID-19 among treatment eligible patients who were referred to the infusion center between January 4, 2021, and May 14, 2021. Results: Among the 2406 eligible participants, mAb treatment was significantly underutilized among African American patients compared to White patients (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.5–2.1). The higher proportion of refusals and cancellations of mAb treatment may suggest a higher level of hesitancy among African American patients (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.3–2.1). Conclusion: Evaluating the reasons and addressing racial disparities in hesitancy of novel therapeutics under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) offer a critical opportunity to address the inequities in pandemic care.