COVID-19 and Disparities (Pre-Recorded)

Session Submission Type: In-Person Created Panel

Session Description

The papers on this panel present evidence on the uneven effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across populations.

Ari Neeman and Monica Schneider study public opinion about governmental decisions on how to prioritize access to COVID-19 vaccines. Among other things, they analyze whether support for granting vaccine priority to specific groups changes when people are asked to consider the possibility that such prioritization will delay their own vaccine access. They also examine public opinion about what punishments should exist for “cutting in line” to obtain a vaccine. Their analysis sheds light on the degree to which the mass public views different groups as deserving and on “the role that personal threat plays on the public’s willingness to bear costs (or impose punishments) in the name of equity for marginalized populations.”

Alexander Ruiz-Euler presents evidence that there are income-based differences in individuals’ ability to comply with lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data suggest that lockdown policies force a tradeoff between health and income for lower-income individuals, likely because there are differences in labor market flexibility for low- versus high-paying jobs.

Carlo Maria Palermo and Matilde Ceron present research that highlights the contribution of the EU governance framework and the absence of transnational coordination of public health in exacerbating geographical inequalities through the analysis of pandemic preparedness, outbreaks, containment measures and outcomes across the Union.

Ashley M. Fox, Heather Lanthorn, Yongjin Choi, and Kevin Croke study whether presenting people with information about racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 cases and deaths impacts vaccine hesitancy in racially diverse populations. They find that this prime has no effect on vaccine hesitancy rates. Supplemental analyses suggest that vaccine hesitancy traces mainly to concerns about the speed of vaccine development and lack of trust in political and scientific institutions.

Sub Unit

• Division 48: Health Politics & Health Policy

Individual Presentations

• The Cost of Equity: COVID Vaccine Priority, Deservingness and Disability - Ari Neeman; Monica C. Schneider, Miami University

• Using Location Data to Detect Income-Driven Mobility Gaps During Lock-Down - Alexander Ruiz-Euler, Cuebiq

• Does Framing Coronavirus in Terms of Disparities Reduce Vaccine Hesitancy? - Ashley M Fox, SUNY at Albany; Heather Elisabeth Lanthorn, IDinsight; Yongjin Choi, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Kevin Croke, Harvard School of Public Health

• The EU, Covid-19 and the State of the Health (Dis)-Union - Carlo Maria Palermo; Matilde Ceron, University of Milan

Chair

• Adam Koon Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health

Discussants

• Renu Singh Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

• Adam Koon Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health