NYC’s Rx FOR INEQUITY

Will consider race in COV drug allotment

New York City will take a patient’s race into account when distributing potentially lifesaving COVID treatments, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene revealed on its Web site.

The city will “consider race and ethnicity when assessing individual risk,” reads the agency’s official guidance from Dec. 20, which adds that “longstanding systemic health and social inequities” can contribute to an increased risk of dying from COVID-19.

The guidance applies to both the distribution of monoclonal antibodies and oral antivirals like Paxlovid and molnupiravir.

One Staten Island doctor said he filled two prescriptions for Paxlovid last week and was asked by the pharmacist to disclose the race of his patients before the treatment was authorized.

“In my 30 years of being a physician, I have never been asked that question when I have prescribed any treatment,” said the doctor, who requested anonymity. “The mere fact of having to ask this question is a slippery slope.”

Both patients, who are white, were granted their prescriptions.

‘White privilege’

A recent request for proposals on behalf of the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene mentioned “white privilege.”

“DOHMH is committed to improving health outcomes for all New Yorkers by explicitly advancing racial equity and social justice,” it read. “Racial equity does not mean simply treating everyone equally, but rather, allocating resources and services in such a way that explicitly addresses barriers imposed by structural racism . . . and white privilege.”

It was unclear whether the new race guidance had yet to exclude any white people from getting treatment, but observers and doctors fear that a system is being created that could lead to racial exclusions in the future during a

drug shortage or case surge.

Medical experts said it is correct for COVID-19 treatment to be allocated based on who is at the highest risk, but stressed that race was not a biological risk factor with the coronavirus.

“I have not seen [race] as one of the risk factors for severe disease and death,” Martin Kulldorff, a Harvard epidemiologist and professor, told The Post. “The reason that a lot of African Americans have died in New York — which is true — is because the rich people and more affluent were working from home while the working class were exposed.

“The lockdowns have discriminated against minorities,” Kulldorff added. “Basically, they have discriminated against the working class, and minorities are a bigger proportion of the working class.”

‘Politics before health’

In a public notice, the state Department of Health said last week that “nonwhite race or Hispanic/ Latino ethnicity should be considered a risk factor” — putting it in a class with other COVID risk factors like age and obesity.

“There are severe supply shortages for all COVID-19 outpatient therapeutics,” warn city health officials, who urge providers to follow the state guidelines.

The directives follow a slew of new laws signed by Gov. Hochul aimed at addressing “discrimination and racial injustice.” One of the edicts formally declares racism to be a public health crisis.

“It’s just absurd and it shows this is not about public health,” Andrew Giuliani, a GOP candidate for governor, told The Post. “This has not been about the health of New Yorkers from the get-go. Politics before the health and safety of New Yorkers. It continues from the Cuomo administration to the Hochul administration with these new laws.”

Michael Lanza, a DOHMH spokesman, told The Post: “New Yorkers of color have borne the brunt of this pandemic due to structural racism and the legacy of disinvestment in many minority communities.

“Doctors are advised to consider the disproportionate impact felt by these communities in addition to systemic health disparities when prescribing treatments for people who are at highest risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes.”