Abstract
Objective: To examine the association between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and COVID-19 incidence among Louisiana census tracts.Methods: An ecological study comparing the CDC SVI and census tract-level COVID-19 case counts was conducted. Choropleth maps were used to identify census tracts with high levels of both social vulnerability and COVID-19 incidence. Negative binomial regression with random intercepts was used to compare the relationship between overall CDC SVI percentile and its four sub-themes and COVID-19 incidence, adjusting for population density.Results: In a crude stratified analysis, all four CDC SVI sub-themes were significantly associated with COVID-19 incidence. Census tracts with higher levels of social vulnerability were associated with higher COVID-19 incidence after adjusting for population density (adjusted RR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.41-1.65).Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that increased social vulnerability is linked with COVID-19 incidence. Additional resources should be allocated to areas of increased social disadvantage to reduce the incidence of COVID-19 in vulnerable populations.
Highlights
On March 9, 2020, the first presumptive COVID-19 case was reported in Louisiana (1)
Throughout the Summer of 2020, Louisiana has remained an epicenter for COVID-19 in the United States with 2,495 reported cases per 100,000 persons and 86 COVID-19 related deaths per 100,000 persons, which are currently some of the highest incidence and mortality rates in the United States (2)
38% of reported COVID-19 cases and 47% of COVID-19-related deaths are among Black people, yet Black people make up just 33% of the Louisiana population
Summary
On March 9, 2020, the first presumptive COVID-19 case was reported in Louisiana (1). Throughout the Summer of 2020, Louisiana has remained an epicenter for COVID-19 in the United States with 2,495 reported cases per 100,000 persons and 86 COVID-19 related deaths per 100,000 persons, which are currently some of the highest incidence and mortality rates in the United States (2). As of September 3, 2020, there has been a cumulative total of 150,651 reported COVID-19 cases and 4,858 COVID-19 related deaths in Louisiana (3). 38% of reported COVID-19 cases and 47% of COVID-19-related deaths are among Black people, yet Black people make up just 33% of the Louisiana population. Similar racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes have been found across the United States (US), where Black people are over 2.6 times more likely to be an incident COVID-19 case and 2.1 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than non-Hispanic Whites (4).
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