# Quantifying racial disparities in risk of invasive Staphylococcus aureus infection in Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, during the 2020–2021 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic

## TL;DR

The study found that during the COVID-19 pandemic in Atlanta, Black residents faced a 60% higher risk of invasive Staphylococcus aureus infections compared to White residents.

## Contribution

The study reveals that the impact of the pandemic on S. aureus infections disproportionately affects Black communities.

## Key findings

- Higher community-onset S. aureus infection risk is linked to increased COVID-19 rates.
- Black residents experienced a 60% greater impact from the pandemic-related S. aureus infection risk than White residents.

## Abstract

We estimated the racial disparity in rates of invasive S. aureus infections based on community coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rates at the county level. Our data suggest that COVID-19 infection burden (1) affects not only hospital-onset MRSA invasive infection risk but also community-onset S. aureus invasive infection risk and (2) affects Black residents ∼60% more than White residents.