Contextualizing Inequities in COVID Vaccination Trends Among Project REFOCUS Pilot Sites: Racism-Related Determinants of Health

Abstract

Introduction Coronavirus disease (COVID) dashboards rarely provide insights about the racialized contexts in which vaccination inequities occur. Objective The purpose of this study was to use the emerging Project REFOCUS dashboard to contextualize COVID vaccination patterns among 6 diverse communities. Methods We queried the dashboard to generate descriptive statistics on vaccination trends and racism-related contextual factors among the 6 Project REFOCUS pilot sites (Albany, Georgia, Bronx, New York, Detroit, Michigan, Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, San Antonio, Texas, and Wake County, North Carolina). Results Vaccination rates, demographic indicators, and contextual factors differed across sites. As of October 17, 2022, the proportion of people who had received at least 1 COVID vaccine dose ranged from 58.4% (Wayne County, Michigan) to 95.0% (Wake County, North Carolina). The pilot sites with the greatest percentage of Black residents (Dougherty County, Georgia, Wayne County, Michigan, and Phillips County, Arkansas) had lower proportions of fully vaccinated people. Wayne County, Michigan, had the highest level of residential segregation between Black and White residents (78.5%) and non-White and White residents (68.8%), whereas Phillips County, Arkansas, had the highest overall mortgage denial rates (38.9%). Both counties represent settings where over 75.0% of residents report Black race and over 30.0% of the population live in poverty. Discussion The dashboard integrates racism-related factors with COVID vaccination visualizations and provides a fuller picture of the context in which COVID trends are occurring. Conclusions Community organizers, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners can track racism-related factors and other social determinants of health as part of the contexts in which COVID-related inequities occur.