Surgo Foundation, a privately funded think tank, released a new analysis Oct. 1 showing six college communities that it deems are most vulnerable to a COVID-19 outbreak.
The analysis is based on data from Surgo's COVID-19 community vulnerability index, which combines the CDC's social vulnerability index with epidemiological and healthcare system factors related to COVID-19.
To determine whether the county where a college is located is especially vulnerable to a COVID-19 outbreak, analysts used Surgo's index to assess vulnerability through at-risk populations.
Surgo said the six college communities on its list have large at-risk populations, due to a large proportion of elderly and/or chronically ill residents, as well as high transmission risk and low social distancing. Read more about the methodology here.
The six college communities:
Lane County, Ore.
College: University of Oregon
Middlesex County, N.J.
College: Rutgers University
Pickens County, S.C.
College: Clemson University
Jefferson County, Ky.
College: University of Louisville
Albemarle County, Va.
University of Virginia
King County, Wash.
College: University of Washington