Spatial Patterns of COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage by Social Vulnerability Index and Designated COVID-19 Vaccine Sites in Texas

Dania Mofleh; Maha Almohamad; Ikponmwosa Osaghae; Sandra Bempah; Qianzi Zhang; Guillermo Tortolero; Ahmad Ebeidat; Ryan Ramphul; Shreela V Sharma

doi:10.3390/vaccines10040574

Spatial Patterns of COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage by Social Vulnerability Index and Designated COVID-19 Vaccine Sites in Texas

Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Apr 8;10(4):574. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10040574.

Authors

Dania Mofleh¹, Maha Almohamad¹, Ikponmwosa Osaghae¹, Sandra Bempah², Qianzi Zhang³, Guillermo Tortolero¹, Ahmad Ebeidat⁴, Ryan Ramphul¹, Shreela V Sharma¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston, TX 77030, USA.
² Geography Department, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44240, USA.
³ Department of Management, Policy & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston, TX 77030, USA.
⁴ Department of Economics, Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60604, USA.

Abstract

Equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine remains a public health priority. This study explores the association between ZIP Code−Tabulation Area level Social Vulnerability Indices (SVI) and COVID-19 vaccine coverage in Texas. A mixed-effects, multivariable, random-intercept negative binomial model was used to explore the association between ZIP Code−Tabulation Area level SVI and COVID-19 vaccination coverage stratified by the availability of a designated vaccine access site. Lower COVID-19 vaccine coverage was observed in ZIP codes with the highest overall SVIs (adjusted mean difference (aMD) = −13, 95% CI, −23.8 to −2.1, p < 0.01), socioeconomic characteristics theme (aMD = −16.6, 95% CI, −27.3 to −5.7, p = 0.01) and housing and transportation theme (aMD = −18.3, 95% CI, −29.6 to −7.1, p < 0.01) compared with the ZIP codes with the lowest SVI scores. The vaccine coverage was lower in ZIP Code−Tabulation Areas with higher median percentages of Hispanics (aMD = −3.3, 95% CI, −6.5 to −0.1, p = 0.04) and Blacks (aMD = −3.7, 95% CI, −6.4 to −1, p = 0.01). SVI negatively impacted COVID-19 vaccine coverage in Texas. Access to vaccine sites did not address disparities related to vaccine coverage among minority populations. These findings are relevant to guide the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in regions with similar demographic and geospatial characteristics.

Keywords: COVID-19; GIS; health inequities; vaccine; vaccine coverage.