Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage: The Contribution of Socioeconomic and Demographic Factors

INTRODUCTION: Health disparities among racial and ethnic and socioeconomic groups are pervasive, and the COVID-19 pandemic has not been an exception. This study explores the key demographic and socioeconomic factors related to racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccination coverage. METHODS: Using recent (January 2021–March 2021) data on adults from the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, a regression-based decomposition method was used to estimate how much of the observed racial and ethnic disparities in vaccination coverage could be explained by particular socioeconomic and demographic factors (i.e., age, number of children and adults in household). RESULTS: Demographics, socioeconomic factors, and experiencing economic hardship during the pandemic each explained a statistically significant portion of vaccination coverage disparities between non-Hispanic White and racial/ethnic minority individuals. The largest disparity was observed among people who identified as Hispanic or Latino, whose vaccination coverage was 8.0 (95% CI=7.1, 8.9) percentage points lower than that of their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Socioeconomic factors explained 4.8 (95% CI=4.3, 5.2) percentage points of this disparity, and economic hardship explained an additional 1.4 (95% CI=1.2, 1.6) percentage points. CONCLUSIONS: This paper identified the key factors related to racial and ethnic disparities in adult vaccination coverage. The variables that explained the largest portions of the disparities were age, education, employment, and income. The study findings can help to inform efforts to increase equitable vaccine access and engage various segments of the population to prevent the further exacerbation of COVID-19 health disparities.