Identification of “Hot Spots” of COVID-19 in the United States (January 2020-January 2021)

Objective To examine the sociodemographic factors associated with US metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and how the sociodemographic profiles of these highest-risk MSAs have changed across two timepoints during the pandemic. Methods This study compares data on the Top 20 MSAs with the highest cumulative COVID-19 case rate at two timepoints (October 13, 2020 and January 1, 2021). The means of CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) variables for the highest risk MSAs were compared with the Welch Two Sample t-test to the means of the SVI variables for the rest of the U.S. Results The Top 20 MSAs on October 13, 2020 (Time 1) tended to be located around the US-Mexico border and the South, and the Top 20 MSAs on January 1, 2021 (Time 2) tended to located in the Southwest and Midwest regions. At Time 1, more vulnerable MSAs were disproportionately affected. Conclusion Our findings highlight the excessively high rates of COVID-19 and how it is important for clinicians and public health practitioners to consider these “hot spots” when planning interventions.