Population-Level Disparities in Exposure to COVID-19 Mitigation Policies, April 2020-April 2021.

Context: Studies have found that COVID-19 stay-at-home orders (SHOs) and face mask policies (FMPs) were associated with reduced COVID-19 transmission and deaths. But it is unknown whether exposure to these policies varied by sociodemographic characteristics across the US population.

Objective: The goal of this study was to quantify and characterize the sociodemographic characteristics and geographic distribution of populations exposed to evidence-based COVID-19 mitigation policies.

Design: We obtained statewide SHOs and FMPs for all US counties from April 10, 2020, to April 10, 2021, calculated median policy lengths, and categorized counties into 4 groups based on length of policy exposure: low SHO-low FMP, high SHO-low FMP, low SHO-high FMP, and high SHO-high FMP. We described exposure groups by COVID-19 cumulative case/death and vaccination rates and county sociodemographic characteristics.

Setting: In total, 3142 counties from all 50 states and Washington, District of Columbia, were included in the analysis.

Main Outcome Measures: County-level sociodemographic factors and county cumulative rates for COVID-19 cases, deaths, and vaccinations.

Results: The largest percentage of the US population lived in counties with high exposure to SHOs and FMPs. However, populations living in high SHO-high FMP counties had the lowest percent non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and highest percent non-Hispanic White (NHW) populations. Populations living in high SHO-low FMP counties had the highest percent NHB and Hispanic populations and the lowest percent NHW population.

Conclusion: This study identified county-level racial, ethnic, and sociodemographic disparities in exposure to evidence-based statewide COVID-19 mitigation policies.

Policy Implications: Exposure to evidence-based policies is an important consideration for studies evaluating the root causes of health inequities.