Assessing the Intersectionality of Risk Factors and Health Disparities in Canadian COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation

Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Canadian government initiated multiple mitigation strategies, including the distribution of vaccines to prevent severe disease and hospitalization. Using the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC’s) Health Equity Approach, we analyze the COVID-19 vaccine campaign in Canada while accounting for frontline healthcare workers, those at higher risk due to preexisting health conditions, older adults, and equity-deserving communities. Equity-deserving communities are defined as groups that experience inequity in healthcare, including First Nations, Inuit, Métis, urban Indigenous (FNIMUI), Black, immigrant, and low socioeconomic status populations. Through evaluation of factors influencing health as depicted by the Health Equity Approach, risk factors such as occupational risks, lack of education, or limitation in access to health resources were identified to contribute to disproportionate COVID-19 infection among these groups. By analyzing past Canadian public health choices in vaccination using the Health Equity Approach, evidence of the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 suggests the need for generating research-based decisions in improving vaccinations among underserved communities. Knowing that these communities possess a more considerable risk of infection, improving current protocols regarding vaccine accessibility, language barriers, sick leave, and appointment booking is necessary. Conducting qualitative evaluations on the inequities faced by equity-deserving communities can help identify disparities in vaccine prioritization, instigating improvements in resource accessibility when preparing for future variants or pandemics in Canada. Evaluating current partnerships using the Health Equity Approach highlights the need to strengthen collaboration with underserved populations and impose federally regulated policies. By assessing the COVID-19 vaccine campaign in Canada we recommend that future public health campaigns improve program implementation to eliminate disparities in vaccination and infection for underserved communities