February 1, 2022
Minorities hit harder by COVID-caused mammography delays
New research from the University of Washington School of Medicine found that women of color were disproportionately affected by the mass postponement of mammograms in the U.S. due to COVID-19.
When the pandemic emerged, routine screenings were pushed back to allow health care facilities and workers to prioritize COVID-19 patients. After a few weeks, guidelines for resuming mammograms were released based on the local impact of COVID-19, availability of specific equipment, and breast surgeon and oncologist availability.
Overall, these guidelines were successful in bringing biopsy and cancer diagnosis numbers back to normal. However, as communities of color experienced greater effects of the pandemic and often lack equitable access to the resources necessary for health care facilities to resume routine screenings under these guidelines, women of color faced increased difficulty receiving mammograms during the pandemic despite the efforts to resume.
The disproportionate access to mammography screenings seen over the past couple of years will likely increase disparities in breast cancer results. These findings will be used to further work toward equitable access to mammograms to serve the women in these communities and hopefully prevent increased negative breast cancer outcomes.