Correlations between environmental justice indicators and community-level COVID-19 vaccination rates among older adults

The purpose of this study is to assess to what extent environmental justice indicators have relationships with community-level COVID-19 vaccination rates among older populations in the United States. This ecological study explores the relationship between the COVID-19 vaccination rates and the Environmental Justice Index (EJI) on a spatial level. Multiple publicly available datasets, including COVID-19 vaccinations rates and EJI indicators obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were linked and merged into a single dataset used for all analyses. Correlational analyses and multivariate regression models were conducted to analyze the associations between environmental and social indicators of EJI and the vaccination rates. Results showed that both the Social Vulnerability Module (SVM) and Environmental Burden Module (EBM) of the EJI had predictive relationships with the COVID-19 vaccination rates (β = − 3.86 and β = − 1.54, respectively). Among these domains, the vaccination rates had the strongest associations with the built environment (β = − 4.32) within EBM and the socioeconomic status (β = − 3.49) within SVM. The following indicators showed the strongest associations with vaccination rates: air toxic cancer risks (β = − 5.47), broadband access (β = − 5.19), recreational parks (β = − 4.87), education (β = − 4.75), civilian with disability (β = − 4.17), walkability (β = − 3.71), and poverty (β = − 3.67). This study provides empirical evidence supporting the use of environmental justice indicators as a standardized tool for evaluating public health outcomes. By understanding and addressing the intersection of social vulnerabilities and environmental factors, public health efforts can strive towards achieving equitable access to vaccination and improving overall community health outcomes.