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The Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 Among Undocumented Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities in the US
32 Pages Posted: 23 Aug 2021
More...Abstract
Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has had an unprecedented effect, especially among under-resourced minority communities. Surveillance of those at high risk is critical for preventing and controlling the pandemic. We must better understand the relationships between COVID-19 cases, our most vulnerable population socio-demographics, socioeconomics, environment, and health outcomes to target COVID-19 prevention and management efforts.
Methods: Population characteristics, strongly related to COVID-19 cases and deaths during all stages of the pandemic, were identified using United States (US) county-level COVID-19 case and death data from the onset of the epidemic, county-level socio-demographic and comorbidities data, daily meteorological modeled observation data from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR), and the NARR high spatial resolution model to assess the environment. Advanced machine learning (ML) approaches were used to identify outbreaks (geographic clusters of COVID-19), spatiotemporal risk factors, and tailor COVID-19 mitigation efforts, especially among vulnerable and underserved communities.
Results: A strong COVID-19 relationship was found with the number of people vaccinated, prevalence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, age, and minority population. There was also a strong relationship between the number of unauthorized immigrants and the prevalence of COVID-19. Meteorological variables were also investigated but associations with COVID-19 were relatively weak.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact across the US population among vulnerable and minority communities. Findings also emphasize the importance of vaccinations and tailored public health initiatives to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and the number of COVID-19 related deaths across all populations.
Funding: UH was supported by the Research Council of Norway (grant # 281077).
Declaration of Interest: None to declare.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation