58 - The Original (Antigenic) Sin
Bedside Rounds
Exploring Health Disparities Through History
This chapter examines the stark differences in COVID-19 outcomes among racial groups, especially the higher death rates in Black communities compared to White populations. It explores underlying social determinants of health, connecting historical pandemics to ongoing issues of health equity and systemic racism.
The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the racial health disparities in the United States, with markedly increased mortality especially among Blacks and Native Americans. In this episode, Tony Breu and I discuss the conception of race, racism, and the social determinants of health through three historic plagues in the United States -- from yellow fever in New Orleans, to poliomyelitis, and finally the early days of HIV/AIDS -- and what lessons we can draw for COVID-19. Along the way, we’ll discuss the unique social capital afforded by acclimation, immunity passports, the concept of the “original antigenic sin,” and constitutionalism and eugenics. This presentation was performed live at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts American College of Physicians, and is only lightly edited.
SOURCES:
- Monath TP, Yellow fever: an update. Lancet Infect Dis. 2001 Aug;1(1):11-20. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(01)00016-0.
- Kallas EG, D'Elia Zanella LGFAB, Moreira CHV, Buccheri R, Diniz GBF, Castiñeiras ACP, Costa PR, Dias JZC, Marmorato MP, Song ATW, Maestri A, Borges IC, Joelsons D, Cerqueira NB, Santiago E Souza NC, Morales Claro I, Sabino EC, Levi JE, Avelino-Silva VI, Ho YL. Predictors of mortality in patients with yellow fever: an observational cohort study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2019 Jul;19(7):750-758. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30125-2. Epub 2019 May 16. Erratum in: Lancet Infect Dis. 2019 Nov;19(11):e370. PMID: 31104909.
- Blake LE, Garcia-Blanco MA. Human genetic variation and yellow fever mortality during 19th century U.S. epidemics. mBio. 2014 Jun 3;5(3):e01253-14. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01253-14. PMID: 24895309; PMCID: PMC4049105.
- Jelili Ojodu, MPH1, Mary M. Hulihan, MPH2, Shammara N. Pope, MPH2, Althea M. Grant, PhD2,, MMWR, Incidence of Sickle Cell Trait — United States, 2010.
- IthaMaps, Haemoglobin Epidemiology. https://www.ithanet.eu/db/ithamaps?country=GR
- Serjeant GR, The natural history of sickle cell disease. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2013 Oct; 3(10): a011783.
- Hamosh A, FitzSimmons SC, Macek M Jr, Knowles MR, Rosenstein BJ, Cutting GR. Comparison of the clinical manifestations of cystic fibrosis in black and white patients. J Pediatr. 1998 Feb;132(2):255-9. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(98)70441-x. PMID: 9506637.
- Gershman KD et al, Yellow Fever Vaccine & Malaria Prophylaxis Information, by Country. CDC.
- Kofler N and Baylis F, Ten reasons why immunity passports are a bad idea. Nature 21 May 2020.
- NASEM, National Academies Release Framework for Equitable Allocation of a COVID-19 Vaccine for Adoption by HHS, State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Authorities.
- Schmidt H et al, Covid-19: how to prioritize worse-off populations in allocating safe and effective vaccines.BMJ 2020; 371 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m3795 (Published 05 October 2020).
- Siegal FP, Lopez C, Hammer GS, Brown AE, Kornfeld SJ, Gold J, Hassett J, Hirschman SZ, Cunningham-Rundles C, Adelsberg BR, et al. Severe acquired immunodeficiency in male homosexuals, manifested by chronic perianal ulcerative herpes simplex lesions. N Engl J Med. 1981 Dec 10;305(24):1439-44. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198112103052403. PMID: 6272110.
- Lushniak BD, Surgeon General’s Perspectives. Public Health Rep. 2014 Mar-Apr; 129(2): 112–114.
- Booske BC et al, “Different Perspectives For Assigning Weights to Determinants of Health,” University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
- Marc LG et al,HIV among Haitian-born persons in the United States, 1985–2007, AIDS. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 Aug 24.
- Rogers N, Race and the Politics of Polio: Warm Springs, Tuskegee, and the March of Dimes. Am J Public Health. 2007 May; 97(5): 784–795.
- Curran JW and Jaffe HW, AIDS: the Early Years and CDC’s Response. MMWR.
- Olivarius Kathryn, Immunity, Capital, and Power in Antebellum New Orleans. The American Historical Review, Volume 124, Issue 2, April 2019, Pages 425–455,
The AI-powered Podcast Player
