Counties with high social vulnerability had lower COVID-19 vaccination rates than counties with low social vulnerability from mid-December through February, according to research released March 17 by the CDC.
The researchers used several factors to determine which counties had high social vulnerability, including data on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and disability status.
The U.S. has publicly committed to prioritizing communities who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 during its vaccination effort, but the CDC's findings suggest more work needs to be done, as the percentage of residents who received at least one dose of a vaccine was 1.9 points lower in high social vulnerability counties than in low social vulnerability counties.
To improve vulnerable communities' vaccine access and outreach, the CDC recommended federal, state and local jurisdictions increase their monitoring of COVID-19 vaccination levels using social vulnerability indicator metrics.
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