| Popis: |
Background The global Covid-19 pandemic has caused numerous deaths and illnesses, posing unprecedented social and economic challenges to many countries. One of the key strategies to contain the pandemic is mass vaccination programme. However, vaccination rates vary across space and socio-economic factors, and are likely to depend on the accessibility to vaccination services. There is a lack of quantitative understanding of how spatial-socio-economic factors influence the Covid-19 vaccination rates in England. Methods We investigated the percentage of over-18 fully vaccinated people at the small-area level across England up to 18 November 2021. We used (multiscale) geographically weighted regression to model the spatially heterogeneous relationship between vaccination rates and socio-economic determinants, including ethnic, age, economic, and accessibility factors. Results This study indicates that the selected model can explain 83.2% of the total variance of vaccination rates. The variables exhibiting a positive association with vaccination rates in most areas include proportion of population over 40, car ownership, average household income, and accessibility to vaccination. In contrast, population under 40, low multiple deprivation level, and black or mixed ethnicity are negatively associated with the vaccination rates. Conclusions Our findings indicate the importance of improving the spatial accessibility to vaccinations in developing regions and among specific population groups in order to promote Covid-19 vaccination. |
