Introduction to the Pandemic
Early 2020 is when it started. People were whispering about a virus going rampant in China. Around that time most of the world thought that we were in no danger, it was all the way in China. And all it sounded like a bad case of the flu, it wasn’t. Slowly but surely we started to hear about case found in Europe of this virus called Covid 19. Even then most thought that simple throat medicine would suffice and it was still an ocean away. Then we hear that small number of cases in Seattle.
Then finally March 2020, we hear of the first case in NYC. CDC guidance was all over the place don’t wear masks, then later wear masks. In a mass panic people cleaned out essential supplies like toilet paper and stored away tons of food like we were being invaded by a foreign country. Hand sanitizers and disinfectant equipment flew off the shelves and were in short supply. Finally March 12, 2020 the government had officially declared quarantine and banned workers deemed non-essential from going to work in person. Millions of businesses have closed since then, with millions of worker either being laid off or forced into unemployment due to lack of work. Schools and other in person activities were gone. The worst thing was that thousands of cases were popping up daily with hundreds of deaths every day. A couple of months later in the summer of 2020 it seemed as if things were finally starting to cool off. But then a second and third surge happened infecting tens of thousands more.
The light in tunnel was that a vaccine was in development for months and finally two pharmaceutical companies called Pfizer and Moderna had released their version of an MRNA vaccine against COVID-19. When it first came out the vaccines were in short supply and the people who wanted them were many. And now about 70% of individuals have received the first dose of the vaccine with about 50% being fully vaccinated. COVID-19 as we know it had been the lowest in about a year and a half. Many now fear it’s starting to come back again and this time, according to experts, its due to vaccine hesitancy. And now data suggest the different variants of COVID-19 are spiking communities where vaccination rates are low.
Report Summary and Goals
This report is centered are on how many cases are going on currently, for example what is the hospitalization, cases, and death rate at right now. How many people have been vaccinated so far and how much is the vaccination rate? Finally, why some areas of New York City have lower vaccination rate than others.
The study it’s all was limited to New York City and then further refined to Brooklyn. Using different data analytics tools like Tableau, Microsoft Excel, and Carto I have created different visuals displaying my data. I also got into contact with community organizations in Brooklyn who are trying to educate others and stop the spread of misinformation. The organizations I interviewed and surveyed were the Brooklyn Community Foundation and Elite Learners. Each of these organizations answered my survey and helped me understand what is actually causing the vaccine hesitancy.
The main goals of this report study was to show the seriousness of COVID-19 the effectiveness of the vaccine whether it’s Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson. Another goal of this study wants to find a trend behind the reasoning for vaccine hesitancy. Lastly the other goal was to dispel any misinformation about vaccine effectiveness which may lead to vaccine hesitancy.
Materials
Carto: Is a software tool that allows for web mapping. This basically means it is used for geographical data visualization and analysis. Users are able to use Carto to create a data map from scratch. It is used by businesses to assess where they need to market more, or where their product isn’t reaching as many consumers. I used carto to map the locations where vaccinations rate were high and low. What that essentially created was a point of interest map.
Excel: I extracted the data that on the NYC open data base from Github. Once the CSV was downloaded, I used excel to edit the dataset. I isolated the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths by borough and then I incorporated cumulative vaccine data to get a raw picture of vaccine effects on the borough population. In order to get an even more in depth look, I further isolated the different zip codes, representing each neighborhoods within the boroughs, to see if there was a discrepancy between specific locations within New York City. I also pulled up data showing the median incomes of NYC neighborhoods, in order to compare them against the vaccination data in each zip code.
Tableau: This was used this to further improve upon my visualizations created in Carto. Where Carto would require me to map out the zip code borders of New York City tableau has the borders preset and does not require anything extra. Tableau also allows fuller higher forms of visualizations like bar graphs, pie charts, line charts, etc. All data sets and visualizations were also published to tableau public servers.
Inspirations
This chart was my inspiration to look deeper into vaccination rates of each neighborhood. My previous research gave general view of vaccination rate across New York City as a whole, but I wasn’t able to take an in depth look into each zip code to see if vaccination rates were similar in the specific residential zip codes of the city. The information presented in the chart showed me that a majority of the neighborhoods in Manhattan, which happens to be the richest and most funded borough in NYC, had extremely high vaccination rates. Some neighborhoods achieved herd immunity, while others were very close. I wondered how close the other boroughs were to Manhattan in terms of vaccination rates.
The second chart piqued my interest and made me wonder if there was a socio economic reason behind vaccine discrepancies among zip codes. What this chart was showing was that the people residing in wealthier neighborhoods seemed to have received more vaccinations van residents of New York city’s more impoverished neighborhoods. However, I couldn’t be sure of this until I could see a visualization on maps. This chart also inspired me to ask the question of whether or not the city was providing more resources to well off areas and to further look into discrepancies among vaccination sites in these neighborhoods.
Methods
Step 1: Finding Data
After a simple google search for NYC vaccination data I was led to NYC’s open data base. This data already contained visuals of many covid related events. Fortunately, all the visuals provided by NYC had a link back to the original Github raw data which was being updated daily. Using Github I downloaded the data to further refine it using Excel.
Step 2: Compiling Data into Excel
Excel was used to compile and refine the raw data provided by Github so softwares like Tableau and Carto could more easily process them. Excel allowed for manipulation of data, to reflect which zip codes had herd immunity and which ones didn’t. Elimination of unnecessary data from Excel was easy and allowed me to simply show data regarding hospitalizations, cases, and death related to Covid in New York City. Using excel I could filter, sort, and group the different different boroughs median income.
Step 3: Uploading the data onto Carto and Performing an Automated Geo-Analysis
The analysis has to be performed in order for Carto to create a web map automatically. Carto automatically prompts its users to sort the data set. In this case the dataset was sorted through using Postal Codes(Zip Codes). And to be more accurate it had me manually enter the country name for the geo codes. After running the analysis Carto was able to pin point my data to specific locations in NYC.
Step 3: Styling the map indicators and adding legend
The indicators were styled based on value of the rate of vaccination. The darker the circle the higher the vaccination rate and the lighter the circle the lower the vaccination. The visuals are shown on a darker map in order for the contrast to pop more.
Step 4: Comparing my Map with Median Income map
According to my map most zip codes south of Harlem over 70%, which means they have achieved herd immunity from COVID. Those are also the areas where median household income is in the six figure range. Also areas like Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, Williamsburg, Park Slope, and Bay Ridge, all neighborhoods with median income over $70 Thousand dollars, also have high vaccinations compared to Flatbush, Crown Heights, East NY, Bushwick, and Brownsville (neighborhoods below $45 thousand median income) which have some of the lowest vaccination rates in the city. These same trends show up in the other three boroughs. What this shows me especially when comparing to the median income map is that wealthy commercial and residential areas are receiving more vaccines than impoverished areas. This could indicate a lack of resources like manpower, clinics, and pharmacies alongside not being given vaccination priority. While city numbers for vaccinations look great, when inspected further it is very clear that there is a divide in vaccination efforts between rich and poor neighborhoods.
The downside to the map created on carto was that it didn’t give a proper view of which zip codes were vaccination hot zones and which were cold. In order to do that on Carto I would need to add an extra data file containing zip code borders. This is where tableau came in as it did not require that, and borders were preset. This meant rather than getting a point of interest visualization I could get a heat map visual of the data. This would allow me to better compare the median income map with vaccination data.
Step 5: Creating a Pie Chart
My first task with tableau was to create pie chart showing what percentage of each borough was vaccinated. According to the pie chart Manhattan is the only borough to have achieved herd immunity with over 70% of its residents vaccinated. This is line with my socio economic theory that residents of wealthy areas have more access to vaccines. Manhattan being the richest borough supports that. While the least wealthiest borough being Bronx has the lowest vaccination rate citywide. This is approximately 10% lower than the city average vaccination rate.
Step 6: Creating a Map showing Vaccine provider locations
Tableau also allowed me to create a map showing me which zip codes have the most clinics/pharmacies available ready to vaccinate the residents. The map clearly shows many zip codes in Manhattan have between 10-19 providers. Being the smallest borough what this means is that Manhattan residents have more pharmacies and clinics per square mile than any other borough. Making it simpler and faster for its residents to quickly get vaccinated. The same concept applies to Brooklyn with wealthy neighborhoods like Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, Park Slope, Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, etc, having 7-14 locations. On the other hand Bushwick, Bed-Stuy, Brownsville, Canarsie, Flatbush, etc, have somewhere between 2-6 locations. The residents of the central Brooklyn area where the median income is low need to travel farther to receive a shot as opposed to their west and northern counter parts.
Step 7: Creating a Map showing Vaccination rate
The map shows exactly what I hypothesized the rich neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn, & Queens all have average to high vaccination rates. While the more impoverished areas are nearly 20% behind the city average. Take a close look at Manhattans Financial District, Midtown, Hell Kitchen, Chelsea, etc., it’s dark green indicating an extremely high vaccination rate. Now look at Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood all of them are a ligher shade of green and they also happen to be the some the few neighborhoods in Manhattan with a median income of 25,000-45,000. Brooklyn’s neighborhoods like Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, Park Slope, Bay Ridge, and Sunset Park all have median income of over 70,000 have vaccination rate 5-10% above city average. On the other central Brooklyn has a median income of 25,000-45,000 with rates lower than 40%. All of this is supports my idea of socioeconomic status determining ability to get vaccinated at your convenience.
Step 8: Comparing the three maps
Step 9: Compiling Interview Results
Interview Questions 1-
Do you mind stating your name our position and the name of the organization you work for? (I can assure you your name will not be released to the public and will be confidential between me and my research group. I will only use the organization name if published.)
Organization: Brooklyn Community Foundation
Position Title: Events Coordinator
As you may know many of central Brooklyn’s neighborhoods have a vaccination rate 45% or less, while the city as a whole is at 54% fully vaccinated. Midwood, Flatlands, Canarsie, Brownsville, and East Bed-Stuy; the neighborhoods I just mentioned in particular have a full vaccination rate of around 35%.
What are your thoughts on the low vaccination rate of these areas?
Misinformation, vaccine side effects, and the general skeptics are all a part of the reason. What we need to do as a community is reach out to our fellow Brooklynites, and educate them on what the vaccine is supposed to do, and how it works.
What factors do you think are influencing vaccine hesitancy in these areas? Why do you think that?
Due to the spread of misinformation on social media, many residents throughout our country are starting to doubt the effectiveness of vaccines. Vaccine side effects are a major dissuader when it come to being comes to getting vaccinated. Finally, there will always be skeptics who think the government made the vaccines too fast, and we are being used as guinea pigs. I seen many individuals on social media commenting the wildest conspiracy theories centered around vaccines.
Do you think there are any differences in the allocation of resources these areas vs areas like Park Slope, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Heights, Dyker Heights, etc., where vaccination rates are really high?
Honestly, it’s all about access. The average person in a central Brooklyn neighborhood needs to walk 14 in a half minutes to go to the nearest vaccination site.
Do you believe that the city government has done enough to each these areas and promote vaccinations?
They are making a really good attempt. The mayors office has recently expanded vaccinations services to where providers will come to your home in order to vaccinate you. Pop up vaccination spots were opened up near public hot zones like Coney Island.
In your opinion what else can be done by the city government to increase vaccination rates in these areas?
Boosting community outreach by increasing volunteer numbers to help non-profit organizations like us.
I know your organization has taken some steps to help dissuade vaccine hesitancy. Can you give a brief summary of your plan?
Yes, so what we are doing is providing $10,000 grants to local community organizations like The Alex House Project, Ali Forney Center, and Flatbush Development core i order for them to go out into their respective areas and provide correct information regarding vaccinations.
That will be all, thank you so much for your time.
Interview Questions 2-
Do you mind stating your name our position and the name of the organization you work for? (I can assure you your name will not be released to the public and will be confidential between me and my research group. I will only use the organization name if published.)
Organization: Elite Learners
Position Title: Community Outreach Supervisor
As you may know many of central Brooklyn’s neighborhoods have a vaccination rate 45% or less, while the city as a whole is at 54% fully vaccinated. Midwood, Flatlands, Canarsie, Brownsville, and East Bed-Stuy; the neighborhoods I just mentioned in particular have a full vaccination rate of around 35%.
What are your thoughts on the low vaccination rate of these areas?
Throughout the entirety of history black people have been subjected to conscious and sub-conscious bias in the medical community. As a result many people of color have grown a natural distrust in medical system. The neighborhoods listed are predominantly black. In opinion its mistrust in the system that causing this issue.
What factors do you think are influencing vaccine hesitancy in these areas? Why do you think that?
I’ve heard of everything from religious reasons such as this is gods vengeance on a sinful world to misinformed individuals spreading more misinformation. Internet trolls would bolster the number of people who got blood clots, but not paint the whole picture. It’s simply the spread of fear, and misinformation.
Do you think there are any differences in the allocation of resources these areas vs areas like Park Slope, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Heights, Dyker Heights, etc., where vaccination rates are really high?
These are the wealthier areas of Brooklyn, which are more funded by the city.
Do you believe that the city government has done enough to each these areas and promote vaccinations?
Recently most appointments have become walk-ins which is great. And many new temporary vaccination sites are popping up all over Brooklyn.
In your opinion what else can be done by the city government to increase vaccination rates in these areas?
I believe the more the city government pushes the vaccination agenda the more people will resist. They need to do what they have been doing which is market the vaccine through social media, and TV.
I know your organization has taken some steps to help dissuade vaccine hesitancy. Can you give a brief summary of your plan?
It’s up to us to inform our neighbors and friends of the safety of vaccinations. Our organization holds virtual meetings and town hall meetings in central Brooklyn neighborhoods where our volunteers who have been vaccinated can educate other members of their communities on good hygiene, wearing masks, and the effectiveness of vaccines. We also need to make sure that people understand aren’t 100%, and that they are more like 95% so there is a very rare chance you might get covid. The benefit far outweighs the risk in this regard.
That will be all, thank you so much for your time.
Overall findings and reflection:
Vaccines work! There has been a massive decrease in covid cases since its start in March 2020. This decrease started in once vaccinations were made public. Due to a slowdown in vaccinations Covid cases has started to slowly creep back up. But we can change that. By stopping the spread of misinformation, and making vaccines more accessible we can help educate more people on how rare side effects are, and how effective the vaccines are. The maps have clearly shown a trend in wealthy neighborhoods having more vaccinated residents, as well as having more vaccination locations. The city has taken a major step in funding community non-profits to help spread correct information regarding vaccines.