Into/Background: 

Saban Community Clinic (SCC) is a federally qualified health center in Los Angeles with a mission that healthcare is a right and not a privilege. In 2020 SCC cared for 20,638 patients, 88% of whom are living  at the poverty line and 37% who are uninsured.The COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020 spread rapidly throughout the United States, with Los Angeles County having one of the highest cumulative case totals in the state. As of 7/11/2021 there have been 1,258,685 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in LA County and 24,543 deaths. The total L.A. County mortality rate for COVID-19 is 223 per 100,000 with the highest mortality rate being in the Hispanic/Latino population of L.A. county, 365/100,000, and the lowest in the White population,124/100,000. In November 2020 Los Angeles experienced a devastating COVID-19 case surge and became the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. From October 31st through November 13th the average daily cases increased 108%. COVID-19 took an unequal toll on poorer communities of color in Los Angeles and highlighted many deeply rooted health inequities. In May, 2020 infection rates in poorer regions of central and south L.A. surged, exceeding 600 infections per 100,000 people, while wealthier areas like the West side saw a slower rise (200-300 cases per 100,000 residents). Additionally, during the July 2020 peak, the mortality rate among people living in areas with the fewest resources was 6.5 deaths per 100,000 people, over three times that of people living in high-resource areas. During a July peak in COVID-19 cases, the mortality rate among Latino/Latinx residents was 6 deaths per 100,000 people, four times that of White residents. SCC began vaccinating their patients in February at various clinic locations. This research project sets out to analyze SCC’s vaccination reach and assess vaccine equity.

Methods: 

To understand the effects of COVID-19 on various patient populations in Los Angeles County, LA County Public Health records were utilized to look at cumulative COVID-19 case summaries in Los Angeles and break it down age, race/ethnicity, gender, and Zip code. The demographic breakdown for L.A. county and SCC vaccinations was done using Microsoft Excel, while the heat map presented in Figure 1D was curated by New York Times using Mapbox in combination with L.A. County public health data.  Using data reports from SCC’s electronic medical record system (EPIC) and Microsoft Excel, the demographic breakdown of SCC COVID-19 vaccine doses administered by age, race/ethnicity, gender, and Zip code was analyzed. vaccine dose distribution per zip code (figure 3D) was created in Google Maps.

Results:

Between February and May, 20211 SCC administered 3,909 vaccine doses in Los Angeles. A zip code analysis shows that 4 of the zip codes were in the list of LA county's top 100 communities with the most COVID-19 Cases (Westlake, Pico Union, Hollywood, Downtown, and Koreatown).While the outreach in these communities is great, there is room for improvement in COVID-19 vaccination rates in some of the hardest hit areas of los Angeles.  By May 2020, the pandemic deeply affect South and Southeast L.A., as well as parts of the San Fernando Valley and far reaches of L.A. County, including Pomona, Santa Clarita, Palmdale, and Lancaster. While some of SCC’s vaccinations reached these areas, expanding the vaccine program to target South and East LA, may help support communities most affected by the pandemic. Though hosting geographically targeted vaccination events may help improve outreach, a good starting point might be to assess the reasons for lack of dose administration in these areas. Challenges of vaccine reach to these areas may include vaccine hesitancy, language barriers, and lack of accessibility.