Mapping COVID-19 cases in Minnesota: a look at vaccinations, race, and health care providers

Keywords: Covid-19, Vaccine, Healthcare, Minnesota, Cases
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory disease caused by a novel virus, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly spread worldwide, resulting in the still ongoing global pandemic. The novel virus has infected over 600 million people worldwide and killed about 6.6 million. The U.S. accounts for 97 million of those cases and over 1 million deaths. The pandemic took a devastating toll on the healthcare system, including that of the state of Minnesota. A series of maps was created by using Minnesota Department of Health data. A NAD 1983 UTM zone 15 N was the projection used. I looked at the total infections by county, as well as vaccinations and access to health care providers by county and race. To provide more insight about the COVID vaccines’ uptake, dot density maps illustrate number of health care providers across the state of Minnesota as well as the number of people vaccinated. A dot on the map represents 2 health care providers. The proportional symbol map was designed to show people who completed vaccine series by county. To help understand the map better the pie chart shows how people got vaccinated by race and ethnicity. The results suggest that COVID infections rates vary by county depending on the vaccination rates and also, somewhat, on the racial makeup and health care provider availability.