Comparison of Global and United States Social Determinants in COVID-19 Vaccination Rates

Background: With the movement to administer booster vaccinations for COVID-19 and thus, updates to the definition of full vaccination as well as continued disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates, the objective of this study was to investigate potential influences on COVID-19 vaccination rates at the global level and additionally explore possible contributing factors in the US for comparison.Methods: COVID-19 vaccination data, current as of November 9th and 19th, 2021, and social determinant data ranging from 2009-2021 was collected from public databases including the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data analysis included calculation and visualization of Pearson correlation coefficients (PCC).Findings: At the global level, we found a strong positive correlation between income (logged GDP per capita) and COVID-19 vaccination rates (PCC = 0·82, n=141); this correlation decreased significantly at the US level (PCC = 0·40, n=50). Non-COVID-19 childhood vaccination rates in the US had insignificant (PCC = 0·12, n=50) correlation to COVID-19 vaccination rates.Interpretations: We find that at a global level, income is strongly correlated with COVID-19 vaccination rates. This correlation decreased by half at the U.S. level, which may reflect the efficacy of efforts at equitable distribution. The findings of this study, such as the strong positive correlation between COVID-19 vaccination rates and global logged GDP per capita as well as the insignificant correlation between US non-COVID-19 childhood vaccination, respectively, warrant further investigation.Funding Information: The authors have no funding sources to disclose. Declaration of Interests: All authors have no conflicts of interests or financial conflicts to declare.