In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the U.S. Surgeon General advised all hospitals and ambulatory care centers to delay nonurgent medical procedures and surgeries. This recommendation, echoed by a multigastroenterology society guideline, led to the suspension of colonoscopies for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and surveillance. Although this temporary suspension was necessary to contain COVID-19 infections, we as gastroenterologists, patient advocates, and CRC researchers have witnessed the downstream impact of COVID-19 and this recommendation on CRC screening, research, and advocacy. These effects are particularly noticeable in medically underserved communities where CRC morbidity and mortality are highest. COVID-19–related pauses in medical care, as well as shifts in resource allocation and workforce deployment, threaten decades worth of work to improve CRC disparities in medically underserved populations. In this perspective, we present the unique challenges COVID-19 poses to health equity in CRC prevention and provide potential solutions as we navigate these uncharted waters.

为了应对 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 大流行，美国卫生局局长建议所有医院和门诊护理中心推迟非紧急医疗程序和手术。这一建议得到了多胃肠病学会指南的响应，导致结直肠癌（CRC）筛查和监测的结肠镜检查暂停。尽管这种暂时中止对于遏制 COVID-19 感染是必要的，但我们作为胃肠病学家、患者权益倡导者和 CRC 研究人员已经见证了 COVID-19 的下游影响以及这一建议对 CRC 筛查、研究和宣传的影响。这些影响在 CRC 发病率和死亡率最高的医疗服务不足的社区尤其明显。与 COVID-19 相关的医疗服务暂停，以及资源分配和劳动力部署的转变，威胁到数十年来为改善医疗服务不足人群的结直肠癌差异所做的工作。从这个角度来看，我们提出了 COVID-19 对 CRC 预防中的健康公平带来的独特挑战，并在我们探索这些未知领域时提供潜在的解决方案。