Vaccine equity in the United States.
While speed of vaccine rollout is important, the equitable distribution of vaccines to communities hit hardest by the pandemic is fundamental to reducing nationwide suffering.
The New York Times has gathered and processed data that evaluates how county vulnerability correlates with vaccination percentage. Unfortunately, the data shows that more vulnerable counties have, on average, a lower proportion vaccinated and that less vulnerable counties have a higher proportion. While some of this may be due to vaccine hesitancy, it is also in part because of a lack of accessibility in these vulnerable communities. Large efforts need to be made to close the gap in these areas.
Graphic details: Vulnerability is decided using a CDC indicator called the Social Vulnerability Index that looks at things like socioeconomic status, housing, transportation, ethnicity, language, and race. Each circle represents a county, with the size of the circle proportional to county population. No C.D.C. data available for Hawaii, Texas and some counties. Colorado, Georgia, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia were excluded because more than a quarter of data is missing. Vaccination percentage is based on fully vaccinated individuals, not those with only 1 dose.
Posted on May 9, 2021.