Chicago's Citywide COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Program: Protect Chicago Plus

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Health Equity

Background:

• Equitable vaccine distribution is crucial for controlling COVID-19.
• The Protect Chicago Plus (PCP) plan aimed to address vaccine access disparities in Chicago.
• Vulnerable communities often face barriers to vaccination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the short-term impact of the PCP plan on COVID-19 vaccine coverage.
• To assess whether the PCP plan reduced vaccination disparities between high and low vulnerability zip codes in Chicago.
• To analyze vaccination trends before and after the implementation of the PCP plan.

Main Methods:

• Interrupted time-series analysis was used to examine vaccination coverage trends.
• Vaccine coverage data was compared between zip codes prioritized by the PCP plan and non-prioritized zip codes.
• The Chicago COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index identified high-vulnerability areas.

Main Results:

• Before PCP implementation, vaccination coverage increased significantly faster in non-PCP zip codes (0.19%/day) compared to PCP zip codes (0.10%/day).
• Following PCP implementation, prioritized zip codes showed a greater daily increase in vaccination coverage (0.42%/day) than non-PCP zip codes (0.27%/day).
• The PCP plan coincided with a reduction in vaccination disparities between high and low vulnerability communities.

Conclusions:

• The PCP plan demonstrated a positive short-term impact on improving vaccine equity in Chicago.
• Citywide vaccination strategies like PCP may enhance vaccine uptake in vulnerable populations.
• Further research is necessary to understand the long-term effects of such strategies on vaccine coverage.