The Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination Rate on Traffic Recovery

The Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination Rate on Traffic Recovery | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination Rate on Traffic Recovery Suyanpeng Zhang, Jing Jin, Han Yu, Ying Hong, Neeraj Sood, Sze-chuan Suen This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4542383/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Sep, 2024 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, traffic sharply fell due to social distancing policies in many locations. Correspondingly, many regions observed an increase in traffic volume (traffic recovery) as the pandemic eased in 2022. We examine how vaccination rates influence traffic recovery in Los Angeles County (LAC), controlling for differences in case counts, demographics, and socioeconomic factors across areas with different vaccination rates. We use arterial road sensor data as a proxy for the traffic volume near each ZIP code, alongside their respective demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. We find that a higher vaccination rate is statistically significantly associated with a larger traffic recovery, a finding that remains consistent across all explored models. This implies that a rise in the vaccination rate might enhance the public's perception of protection, leading to a larger traffic recovery. Moreover, we found that variables including population, income, race, work industry, and commuting preferences were correlated with vaccination rates. This highlights potential inequalities based on race, income, and industry sectors in the COVID-19 vaccination and a return to normal traffic flow. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Sep, 2024 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 18 Jul, 2024 Reviews received at journal 15 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Jun, 2024 Reviews received at journal 10 Jun, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Jun, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 10 Jun, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 10 Jun, 2024 Editor invited by journal 10 Jun, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 10 Jun, 2024 First submitted to journal 06 Jun, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4542383","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":316982187,"identity":"d2e51162-5bc9-48c8-9ddb-c2806d563d42","order_by":0,"name":"Suyanpeng 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