ABSTRACT

This paper first explores spatial distributions and patterns of COVID-19 case rates (cases/100,000 people) and mortality rates (deaths/100,000 people) and their disparities between urban and rural counties in the contiguous US. A county-level social vulnerability index was created using principal component analysis. Social vulnerability components were regressed against both county case and mortality rates. Results suggest that hotspots of case and mortality rates are clustered in Midwest and Upper-Midwest US. We found substantial disparities in case and mortality rates between urban and rural counties. County social vulnerability was positively correlated with both case and mortality rates suggesting counties with higher social vulnerability had higher case and mortality rates. Relationships between social vulnerability components and case and mortality rates vary across the conterminous US. Additionally, counties with increased racial and ethnic minorities, higher percentages of minors, and lower median household income are associated with higher COVID-19 case and mortality rates.

摘要

本文首先探讨了 COVID-19 病例率（病例/100,000 人）和死亡率（死亡/100,000 人）的空间分布和模式，以及它们在美国毗邻城市和农村县之间的差异。使用主成分分析创建了县级社会脆弱性指数。社会脆弱性成分相对于县病例和死亡率进行了回归。结果表明，病例和死亡率的热点集中在美国中西部和上中西部。我们发现城乡县之间的病例和死亡率存在很大差异。县社会脆弱性与病例和死亡率均呈正相关，表明社会脆弱性较高的县的病例和死亡率较高。在美国本土，社会脆弱性成分与病例和死亡率之间的关系各不相同。此外，种族和少数民族增多、未成年人比例较高以及家庭收入中位数较低的县与较高的 COVID-19 病例和死亡率相关。