Announcements
Geographically targeted COVID-19 vaccination is more equitable and averts more deaths than age-based thresholds alone
MPC Members: Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, David Van Riper, Jonathon P. Leider
Published in the journal Science Advances
COVID-19 mortality increases markedly with age and is also substantially higher among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) populations in the United States. These two facts can have conflicting implications because BIPOC populations are younger than white populations. In analyses of California and Minnesota—demographically divergent states—the researchers show that COVID vaccination schedules based solely on age benefit the older white populations at the expense of younger BIPOC populations with higher risk of death from COVID-19. They find that strategies that prioritize high-risk geographic areas for vaccination at all ages better target mortality risk than age-based strategies alone, although they do not always perform as well as direct prioritization of high-risk racial/ethnic groups. Vaccination schemas directly implicate equitability of access, both domestically and globally.
Member Spotlight
Kobie Price
We are proud to announce that Kobie Price, MPC Population Studies Trainee, has been selected to participate in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s leadership programs. These programs connect changemakers across the country—from diverse professions and fields—to learn from and work with one another in creating more just and thriving communities.
Specifically, Price was selected for Health Policy Research Scholars. Designed for doctoral students from historically marginalized backgrounds and populations underrepresented in specific disciplines, Health Policy Research Scholars helps students from all fields apply their work to policies that advance equity and health while building a diverse network of leaders who reflect our changing national demographics.
To learn more about Health Policy Research Scholars and RWJF’s other leadership programs, and to meet other participants, visit www.healthpolicyresearch-scholars.org.
Events
Cite the Center Grant
If your research and work benefited in any way from the Minnesota Population Center services and events - we encourage you to cite the center grant.
The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Minnesota Population Center (P2C HD041023) funded through a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Supported By
Grant number P2CHD041023