Geographic Distribution of Bed Occupancy During the COVID‐19 Epidemic in the United States: A Nationwide Study

Since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic started, the United States has become the global leader in confirmed cases. As of 10 December 2020, the United States had 15 271 571 confirm coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections and 288 762 deaths. The epidemic threatens overwhelming our healthcare system, especially in areas and communities that have been welldocumented to have limited access to care. Several models have aimed to predict the burden on the healthcare system in the early stages of the pandemic, but do not adjust for many important population characteristics that impact access to care, geographic variability, or the ability of the local provider infrastructure to deliver care (eg, bed capacity). To the best of our knowledge, no papers have been published using longitudinal, retrospective data describing bed occupancy or geographic variability during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. As a nation, we do not have a good understanding of how the direct and indirect consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic have impacted access to healthcare in varied geographic regions or for underserved populations. The objective of this paper is to provide preliminary information describing the geographic disparities of bed occupancy across the United States during the early pandemic. In addition, we will identify states that are experiencing ongoing capacity issues. 2 | METHODS