County-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage and Social Vulnerability — United States, December 14, 2020–March 1, 2021

Abstract

What is already known about this topic? COVID-19 has disproportionally affected racial/ethnic minority groups and persons who are economically and socially disadvantaged. Ensuring equitable COVID-19 vaccine coverage is a national priority. What is added by this report? In the first 2.5 months of the U.S. vaccination program, high social vulnerability counties had lower COVID-19 vaccination coverage than did low social vulnerability counties. Although vaccination coverage estimates by county-level social vulnerability varied widely among states, disparities in vaccination coverage were observed in the majority of states. What are the implications for public health practice? Continued monitoring of vaccination coverage by social vulnerability metrics is critical for developing tailored, local vaccine administration and outreach efforts to reduce COVID-19 vaccination inequities.