Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has had disproportionate effects on the morbidity, hospitalizations, and mortality of racial minorities and ethnic minorities in the United States with higher rates seen in Black, American Indian, and Hispanic communities.1,2 The first COVID-19 vaccine was distributed on December 14th, 2020. Different strategies and ethical frameworks were used at the state-level to address these health inequities, and it is expected that vaccines will be distributed equally among all racial and ethnic groups.3 But, the unavailability of vaccine data by race and ethnicity have made it difficult to evaluate the ongoing impacts interim vaccine allocation and distribution strategies may have had across racial and ethnic minority groups.
Our research questions are if there is a significant difference in average daily case growth rate of COVID-19 cases in all racial and ethnic groups in Ramsey County, Minnesota since the start of COVID-19 vaccine distribution, and whether these differences are equitable across the racial and ethnic groups. If health equity was adequately incorporated into allocation and distribution strategies, the average daily case growth rate of COVID-19 cases is hypothesized to decrease across all racial and ethnic groups in similar magnitude.
