Inequalities in COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Peru: An ecological study.

Objective: To assess the correlation between COVID-19 vaccination coverage and the Human Development Index (HDI) at the provincial level in Peru.
Study Design: Ecological study.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional ecological study based on secondary data analysis. Coverages of the first, second ^, and third doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 and the HDI were evaluated. The magnitude of the correlations was assessed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients with their corresponding bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Scatter plots were also constructed.
Results: A total of 196 provinces were included. There was a moderate correlation between the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and the HDI ( r  = 0.3807 [95% CI 0.2585-0.5030], p < 0.0001). The same direction was found for the second ( r  = 0.4064 [95% CI 0.2853-0.5276], p < 0.0001) and third dose ( r  = 0.4435 [95% CI 0.3201-0.5669], p < 0.0001).
Conclusions: A positive correlation was found between COVID-19 vaccination coverage and the HDI, suggesting the presence of inequalities in access to vaccines. Individualised strategies are needed in lower HDI regions to tackle inequalities.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(© 2023 The Authors.)