A Study Examining the Impact of County-Level Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Political Affiliation Characteristics on COVID-19 Vaccination Patterns in Indiana

Abstract

The COVID-19 vaccination campaign resulted in uneven vaccine uptake throughout the United States, particularly in rural areas, areas with socially and economically disadvantaged groups, and populations that exhibited vaccine hesitancy behaviors. This study examines how county-level sociodemographic and political affiliation characteristics differentially affected patterns of COVID-19 vaccinations in the state of Indiana every month in 2021. We linked county-level demographics from the 2016–2020 American Community Survey Five-Year Estimates and the Indiana Elections Results Database with county-level COVID-19 vaccination counts from the Indiana State Department of Health. We then created twelve monthly linear regression models to assess which variables were consistently being selected, based on the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and adjusted R-squared values. The vaccination models showed a positive association with proportions of Bachelor’s degree-holding residents, of 40–59 year-old residents, proportions of Democratic-voting residents, and a negative association with uninsured and unemployed residents, persons living below the poverty line, residents without access to the Internet, and persons of Other Race. Overall, after April, the variables selected were consistent, with the model’s high adjusted R2 values for COVID-19 cumulative vaccinations demonstrating that the county sociodemographic and political affiliation characteristics can explain most of the variation in vaccinations. Linking county-level sociodemographic and political affiliation characteristics with Indiana’s COVID-19 vaccinations revealed inherent inequalities in vaccine coverage among different sociodemographic groups. Increased vaccine uptake could be improved in the future through targeted messaging, which provides culturally relevant advertising campaigns for groups less likely to receive a vaccine, and increasing access to vaccines for rural, under-resourced, and underserved populations.