Deadly variants kindling vaccine equity concerns
Despite equal vaccination rates, hotspot infections climb
Research shows vaccines can turn the tide of the pandemic. The emergence of deadly variants, lower initial vaccine rates among vulnerable groups, and continued surges in COVID-19 cases in communities with low vaccination rates have kindled concerns about vaccine equity.
As COVID-19 hotspots emerged in cities like Toronto, there were efforts to increase vaccine availability and uptake in those neighbourhoods. However, because neighbourhoods have different levels of risk of exposure, equal vaccination rates may not result in similar COVID19 infection rates. Our team looked at these inequalities in Toronto’s neighbourhoods.
In Toronto, vaccination rates were lower in racial minority and immigrant communities in early April 2021.
These communities were also disproportionately affected by the pandemic. This means that vaccination rates were lower in communities with higher COVID-19 infections.
Since then, the supply of vaccines in Canada has increased dramatically. The share of Canadians who received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine rose from less than 14 per cent on April 1 to 69 per cent on July 7.
The Ontario government also carried out policies aimed at a more equitable distribution of vaccines, including allocating half of all new doses to Ontario’s COVID-19 hot spots for two weeks in early May.
A recent poll in the United States also showed that vaccine hesitancy has diminished the most among racial minorities, and there are only small differences in vaccine hesitancy by race. Similarly, vaccine hesitancy decreased significantly among racial minorities in Toronto.
These developments may have increased vaccination rates in at-risk neighbourhoods and reduced disparities in vaccination rates across communities with varying COVID-19 risks. But was this the case? Did efforts aimed at more equitable distribution of the vaccine help reduce inequalities in COVID-19 rates across communities?
Our team addressed these questions by comparing the vaccination uptake of neighbourhoods in Toronto with low, moderate and high COVID-19 levels between mid-april and mid-june 2021. Our research, which is currently undergoing peer review, also examined whether
inequalities in COVID-19 rates diminished during this time.
VACCINATION RATES GREW MORE EQUAL OVER TIME
In April, neighbourhoods with a higher COVID-19 risk had lower vaccination rates than those with a lower COVID-19 risk. The average difference in COVID-19 vaccination rates was 4.4 percentage points between neighbourhoods with low and moderate COVID-19 risks, and 5.8 percentage points between neighbourhoods with low and high COVID-19 risks.
Vaccination rates, however, grew faster in neighbourhoods with higher COVID-19 risks. By June, the average difference in vaccination
rates between neighbourhoods with low and moderate COVID-19 risks was one percentage point. The corresponding difference between neighbourhoods with low and high risks of COVID-19 was 1.7 percentage points.
These findings suggest that Ontario’s policies aimed at improving vaccine equity have been effective at increasing vaccination rates in neighbourhoods hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.