Coronavirus disease 2019 in veterans receiving care at veterans health administration facilities

Purpose: Veterans represent a significant proportion of the U.S. population (7%), and the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in this group of vulnerable patients has been largely overlooked. This analysis reports COVID-19 patient demographics, infection, mortality, and case-fatality rates in the veteran population. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis using the Veterans Affairs informatics and computing infrastructure tool to assess the veterans' COVID-19 infections at the Veterans Affairs facilities from March 4th to June 23rd, 2020. Results: Of the 10,621,580 veterans in this analysis, 59.7% were >= 65 yo, 92.5% were men, 68.7% were white, and 14.2% were black. Veterans >= 65 yo comprised 52.1% of cases and 89.9% of deaths. The relative mortality and case-fatality rates of black veterans, when compared with white veterans, were 2.83 (CI 2.56-3.14; P < .001) and 0.75 (CI 0.68-0.82; P < .001), respectively. Among the veterans who died from COVID-19, 87.4% had a history of cardiovascular disease, 56.5% had a history of diabetes, and 33.6% were obese. Conclusions: Elderly veterans (>= 65yo) and veterans with a history of cardiovascular disease represent a large proportion of the VA COVID-19 cases and deaths. Black veterans had higher mortality rates but lower case fatality rates when than white veterans. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Automated summary

This analysis examines the demographics, infection, mortality, and case-fatality rates of COVID-19 patients in the veteran population from March 4th to June 23rd, 2020. The findings indicate that elderly veterans (>= 65yo) and veterans with a history of cardiovascular disease are significantly impacted, with black veterans showing higher mortality rates but lower case fatality rates compared to white veterans.