Exclusion of women from COVID-19 studies harms women's health and slows our response to pandemics

Abstract

Sex and gender inclusion are crucial in bringing COVID-19 to an end and preventing the next pandemic. Despite this, almost all research studies on COVID-19 and clinical trials of vaccines do not include data on women. How can we combat the pandemic if half of the human population is left out of COVID-19 research? The life-long consequences of this neglect could be severe for women all over the world, particularly with the emergence of new variants that could exaggerate sex differences even further. Here I review recent studies and argue that taking a gender/sex approach to the study of this pandemic would expedite its end and improve the general health of women in substantial ways.