This page shows COVID-19 vaccination coverage and social vulnerability in North Carolina to highlight potential inequities in COVID vaccination access, administration, and uptake (see this page for inspiration). The vaccination data represent people fully vaccinated (2 doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or 1 dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine) and were downloaded from NCDHHS. The data were updated on September 7, 2021. The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) data were downloaded from the CDC. We use a bivariate coloring approach, which can be somewhat difficult to interpret, and therefore is explained below.

The scatterplot plots vaccination coverage on the Y-axis and social vulnerability on the X-axis (the observations are census tracts). The color scheme assigns increasing levels of blue based on percent vaccinated and increasing levels of red based on SVI values. The size of the dots corresponds to the age 12+ population size. The cut points used for the color categories are SVI (0, 0.333, 0.667, 1) and Percent Fully Vaccinated (0, 45%, 55%, 100%). The results are easiest to understand in relation to the four extreme corners of the plot, which are (working clockwise from the bottom left):

Overall, the scatterplot shows that regions with higher social vulnerability have lower vaccination coverage, which points to potential inequities in access to COVID-19 vaccination. The most concerning regions are those in the “red” category, as they have both low coverage and high vulnerability. Below, the data are mapped using this bivariate color scheme, highlighting geographic variations in vaccination coverage and social vulnerability. The map uses the same cut points as the scatterplot: SVI (0, 0.333, 0.667, 1) and Percent Fully Vaccinated (0, 45%, 55%, 100%)

Vaccination and Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). Zoom in to see small census tracts in urban regions. Click on a census tract for more information. To search for an address, city, or zip code, click on the magnifying glass on the top left. Click on the stack symbol (top right) to turn on/off a Roads layer.

For questions, email us at nc-covid@unc.edu