COVID-19 Vaccination Site Accessibility, United States, December 11, 2020-March 29, 2022

Emerg Infect Dis. 2024 May;30(5):947-955. doi: 10.3201/eid3005.230357.

Abstract

During December 11, 2020-March 29, 2022, the US government delivered ≈700 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to vaccination sites, resulting in vaccination of ≈75% of US adults during that period. We evaluated accessibility of vaccination sites. Sites were accessible by walking within 15 minutes by 46.6% of persons, 30 minutes by 74.8%, 45 minutes by 82.8%, and 60 minutes by 86.7%. When limited to populations in counties with high social vulnerability, accessibility by walking was 55.3%, 81.1%, 86.7%, and 89.4%, respectively. By driving, lowest accessibility was 96.5% at 15 minutes. For urban/rural categories, the 15-minute walking accessibility between noncore and large central metropolitan areas ranged from 27.2% to 65.1%; driving accessibility was 79.9% to 99.5%. By 30 minutes driving accessibility for all urban/rural categories was >95.9%. Walking time variations across jurisdictions and between urban/rural areas indicate that potential gains could have been made by improving walkability or making transportation more readily available.

Keywords: 2019 novel coronavirus disease; COVID-19; GIS analysis; SARS-CoV-2; United States; accessibility; coronavirus disease; respiratory infections; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; social vulnerability index; vaccination sites; vaccine; viruses; zoonoses.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19 Vaccines* / administration & dosage
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / prevention & control
  • Health Services Accessibility* / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Rural Population
  • SARS-CoV-2* / immunology
  • United States / epidemiology
  • Urban Population
  • Vaccination* / statistics & numerical data
  • Walking

Substances

  • COVID-19 Vaccines