Inequalities in COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Peru: An ecological study

• Autores: Al-kassab-Córdova, Ali, Mendez-Guerra, Carolina, Silva-Perez, Claudia, Herrera-Añazco, Percy, Benites-Zapata, Vicente A.
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2023
• Institución: Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas
• Repositorio: UPC-Institucional
• Lenguaje: inglés
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorioacademico.upc.edu.pe:10757/668533
• Enlace del recurso: http://hdl.handle.net/10757/668533
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: COVID-19; Peru; Socioeconomic inequalities; Vaccination; COVID-19 vaccination coverage; Human Development Index (HDI); Ecological study; Spearman's rank correlation; Confidence intervals (95% CI); Provinces; Inequalities; Access to vaccines; Individualised strategies

Objective: To assess the correlation between COVID-19 vaccination coverage and the Human Development Index (HDI) at the provincial level in Peru. Study design: Ecological study. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional ecological study based on secondary data analysis. Coverages of the first, second, and third doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 and the HDI were evaluated. The magnitude of the correlations was assessed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients with their corresponding bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Scatter plots were also constructed. Results: A total of 196 provinces were included. There was a moderate correlation between the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and the HDI (r = 0.3807 [95% CI 0.2585–0.5030], p < 0.0001). The same direction was found for the second (r = 0.4064 [95% CI 0.2853–0.5276], p < 0.0001) and third dose (r = 0.4435 [95% CI 0.3201–0.5669], p < 0.0001). Conclusions: A positive correlation was found between COVID-19 vaccination coverage and the HDI, suggesting the presence of inequalities in access to vaccines. Individualised strategies are needed in lower HDI regions to tackle inequalities.