Analysis: Vulnerable U.S. Counties and COVID-19

People in America’s most vulnerable counties are 32% more likely to have died from COVID-19 than those in least vulnerable counties

WASHINGTON, January 28, 2021 — Closely monitoring and targeting resources to America’s most vulnerable communities—those most at risk of the negative financial and health impacts of the pandemic—can help save lives.  Since the start of the pandemic, people living in America’s most vulnerable counties are 32% more likely to have died from COVID-19 than those in the least vulnerable counties.

This is one of the key takeaways from “Vulnerable Communities and COVID-19: The Damage Done, and the Way Forward,” a report Surgo Ventures released today, using its COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index and its new Precision for COVID Data Explorer, a tool made possible by support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.