An association between poverty and COVID-19 fully vaccine coverage in 117 countries: an ecological study

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran

2 Ph.D Student in Epidemiology, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 Health Education and Health Promotion Department, School of Health, Medical Education Research Center, Health Management and Safety Promotion Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

10.30476/jhmi.2025.103694.1234

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated populations and posed unprecedented challenges to healthcare systems and medical infrastructures. Vaccination is the most powerful and successful strategy to effectively control and eliminate the pandemic of infectious disease and resume social and economic daily activities. This ecological study aimed to investigate the correlation between poverty (daily income less than $ 5.5) and vaccination coverage for COVID-19 in 117 countries around the world.
Methods: statistical analyses were conducted to address the aims of this ecological study as mentioned above to examine the association between cumulative fully vaccinated population and poverty in 117 countries. Poverty and vaccine coverage were study variables. Data were collected from the Poverty Rate by Country 2021 and our world in Data Database 2021.
Results: The three countries with the highest rate for the cumulative fully vaccinated population were Portugal (88.98%) Chile (85.32%) and Spain (80.82%) and the three countries with the lowest rate were Burundi (0.02%), Chad (0.48%), and Haiti (0.61%). There was a significant very strong negative correlation between cumulative fully vaccinated population shares and poverty rate (r=-0.86, P< 0.001). The correlation was confirmed for upper-middle-income and lower-middle-income countries. The correlation was not confirmed for high-income and low-income countries.
Conclusion: The findings indicate a negative link between poverty and vaccine coverage. To curb disease in low-income nations, vaccinating at least 60% of the population is essential. Global cooperation for fair vaccine distribution is vital for controlling the pandemic.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Health Management & Information Science

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 01 January 2025

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