This correspondence is from the global G6PDd COVID-19 Taskforce to highlight our concerns regarding G6PD Deficiency, which affects more than 500 million individuals worldwide, and its relevance during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The G6PDd Taskforce is made up of a passionate group of individuals, G6PD Deficiency organizations, G6PD Deficiency forum moderators, medical practitioners, and scientists from around the world who are keen to make a difference towards improving the way the current pandemic is managed globally.

A petition has also been published on this topic, signed by an increasing number of individuals (5,586 as of Jul 14th, 2020), from all over the world, to draw the attention of the World Health Organization to this vulnerable population during the COVID-19 pandemic.

G6PD deficiency is the most common human enzyme deficiency, more prominent in descendants of African, Middle Eastern, Asian and Mediterranean regions [1]. A study of 2.3 million active-duty service members tested for G6PD deficiency from 2004-2018 in the United States, showed that 11.2% of male and 4.7% of female African American service members tested positive for this deficiency. On extrapolation from the 2019 US census, this figure accounts for approximately 3.5 million African American individuals[2]. Given the lack of effective screening, the vast majority of G6PD deficient individuals are unaware of
their status.