Despite widespread access, there are still wide discrepancies in COVID-19 vaccine coverage in communities across the U.S. Researchers with the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics and Johns Hopkins University assessed the relationship between county COVID-19 vaccination rates and both social vulnerability and vaccine hesitancy.

Published in the November issue of Health Affairs, they find almost 20% of counties are associated with high levels of both hesitancy and social vulnerability and continue to be most at risk of failing to achieve high vaccination coverage. Furthermore, their analysis shows vaccine hesitancy and social vulnerability have independently impacted vaccine rates.

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