Supporting Equitable Vaccine Distribution With EHR Data

With the broadening availability of COVID-19 vaccines, it seems the US is finally beginning to see the light at the end of the pandemic-enveloped tunnel. After more than a year of uncertainty and unease, the vaccines represent the opportunity to return to some semblance of normalcy.

However, this optimism has been clouded by concerns about equitable vaccine distribution and access. The virus’s disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minorities, as well as socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, has established a need for strategies around vaccine distribution.

“We were looking both at the race and ethnicity breakdown and even starting week one; we started looking at the ZIP code breakdown by social determinants. We looked at the Social Vulnerability Index and the Community Needs Index – two different kind of metrics that we can use to track that,” Babula explained.