Geographical patterns of social cohesion drive disparities in early COVID infection hazard.

Thomas, Loring J; Huang, Peng; Yin, Fan; Xu, Junlan; Almquist, Zack W; Hipp, John R; Butts, Carter T · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 2022

other · Level V

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Abstract

The uneven spread of COVID-19 has resulted in disparate experiences for marginalized populations in urban centers. Using computational models, we examine the effects of local cohesion on COVID-19 spread in social contact networks for the city of San Francisco, finding that more early COVID-19 infections occur in areas with strong local cohesion. This spatially correlated process tends to affect Black and Hispanic communities more than their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Local social cohesion thus acts as a potential source of hidden risk for COVID-19 infection.

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