Spatial clustering of county-level COVID-19 rates in the U.S

Abstract

Despite the widespread prevalence of cases associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, little is known about the spatial clustering of COVID-19 in the United States. Data on COVID-19 cases were used to identify U.S. counties that have both high and low COVID-19 incident proportions and clusters. Our results suggest that there are a variety of sociodemo-graphic variables that are associated with the severity of COVID-19 county-level incident propor-tions. As the pandemic evolved, communities of color were disproportionately impacted. Subse-quently, it shifted from communities of color and metropolitan areas to rural areas in the U.S. Our final period showed limited differences in county characteristics, suggesting that COVID-19 infec-tions were more widespread. The findings might address the systemic barriers and health disparities that may result in high incident proportions of COVID-19 clusters.