AUTHOR=Biggs Erin N. , Maloney Patrick M. , Rung Ariane L. , Peters Edward S. , Robinson William T. 

TITLE=The Relationship Between Social Vulnerability and COVID-19 Incidence Among Louisiana Census Tracts

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.617976

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2020.617976

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objective:</bold> 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.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> 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.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> 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).</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> 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.</p>