Reasons for concern about disparities in the timeliness and appropriateness of the care received by infl uenza patients who might benefi t from in-hospital care are similar. Given the predicted insuffi cient supply of hospital beds and staff during a pandemic (32), a person's access to potentially lifesaving therapies such as respiratory support and antimicrobial treatment of secondary bacterial pneumonias in an inpatient setting is likely to depend on factors that include usual source of care, citizenship status, and ability to speak English. Disparities may also occur in the quality of care received by persons who are hospitalized. Earlier US studies of persons hospitalized for pneumonia have found that blacks and "other minorities" are 71% and 79% as likely, respectively, as non-Hispanic whites to receive antimicrobial agents within 8 hours of arrival at the hospital (33) and signifi cantly less likely to have blood cultures obtained before receiving antimicrobial therapy (10) . Such disparities in quality of care would likely persist during an infl uenza pandemic.