INTRODUCTION
COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus first identified after an outbreak of atypical pneumonia in Wuhan, China in December 2019. On January 7, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognized this novel virus as SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2).1 The spread of COVID-19 has been rapid; by March 11, 2020 the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic.1 By July 2020, worldwide cases surpassed 12 million, with more than 550,000 deaths. In the United States, total cases exceed 3 million with more than 130,000 deaths.2
Early in the pandemic, researchers searched for predictors of viral infection and disease severity. This work suggested that increased age, ethnicity, and certain comorbidities were likely related to adverse outcomes.3 Evidence of a sex disparity also became apparent.4 Worldwide, differential outcomes for men were observed to varying degrees.5 To date, no consensus on this observation exists, nor are there any definitive explanations for a possible sex discrepancy.
Currently, New York State leads the United States in both COVID-19 cases and deaths; NYC was specifically deemed a COVID-19 epicenter. We analyzed the NYC citywide dataset to further explore the sex disparity related to COVID-19. We report sex and age stratified data on testing rates together with COVID-19 related outcomes including positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths in almost one million individuals.
Early in the pandemic, researchers searched for predictors of viral infection and disease severity. This work suggested that increased age, ethnicity, and certain comorbidities were likely related to adverse outcomes.3 Evidence of a sex disparity also became apparent.4 Worldwide, differential outcomes for men were observed to varying degrees.5 To date, no consensus on this observation exists, nor are there any definitive explanations for a possible sex discrepancy.
Currently, New York State leads the United States in both COVID-19 cases and deaths; NYC was specifically deemed a COVID-19 epicenter. We analyzed the NYC citywide dataset to further explore the sex disparity related to COVID-19. We report sex and age stratified data on testing rates together with COVID-19 related outcomes including positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths in almost one million individuals.