Dallas-based Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation COVID-19 vulnerability index identified social factors as the most significant determinant of infection disparities.
The index measures communities' vulnerability to COVID-19 by tracking and analyzing their comorbidity rates, population over age 65, social factors and ability to observe stay-at-home measures. The model determined social deprivations, such as inadequate access to food, medicine, employment and transportation, as the largest contributor to higher COVID-19 mortality rates among Black and Latinx communities.
Local healthcare providers can use the vulnerability index as a tool to better tailor their COVID-19 response to the neighborhoods that need it most, deploy more testing and education in at-risk areas, and plan culturally sensitive initiatives to address infection disparities in Black and Latinx communities.