Rural–Urban Disparities in COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Associated Mortality and Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes in the United States
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Categorization of Rural and Urban Populations in the U.S.
Defining Rurality vs. Urbanity
3. A Background of Rural–Urban Sociodemographic Composition
3.1. Rural vs. Urban County Race Profiles
3.2. Rural vs. Urban County Age Profiles
3.3. Rural vs. Urban County Poverty, Education, and Employment
4. A Brief History of COVID-19 Vaccine Development
5. Rural–Urban Health Disparities in the U.S.
A History of Poor Cardiovascular Disease Health Outcomes in Rural Communities
6. Exploring Contributing Factors to Vaccine Hesitancy
6.1. Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Communities
6.2. Safety Concerns About mRNA Vaccine Technology
6.3. Safety Concerns About COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse Reactions
6.4. Addresing Safety Concerns: Improved Education on the Risks from Vaccination vs Infection
6.5. The Impact of Infrastructural Barriers and Inaccessible Health Care in Rural Communities
6.6. Addressing Infrastructural Barriers: Improved Vaccine Access
6.7. A Brief Review of How Sociodemographic and Cultural Factors Influence Vaccine Hesitancy
6.8. Sociodemographic and Cultural Factors’ Influence on Increased Rural Vaccine Hesitancy
7. Limitations
8. Conclusion
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Smith, B.; Farakh, F.; Hanif, A.; Tunio, J.H.; Tunio, S.N.J. Rural–Urban Disparities in COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Associated Mortality and Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes in the United States. Vaccines 2025, 13, 861. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13080861
Smith B, Farakh F, Hanif A, Tunio JH, Tunio SNJ. Rural–Urban Disparities in COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Associated Mortality and Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes in the United States. Vaccines. 2025; 13(8):861. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13080861
Chicago/Turabian StyleSmith, Bailey, Fahad Farakh, Asma Hanif, Javed H Tunio, and Shumaila Nida Javed Tunio. 2025. "Rural–Urban Disparities in COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Associated Mortality and Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes in the United States" Vaccines 13, no. 8: 861. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13080861
APA StyleSmith, B., Farakh, F., Hanif, A., Tunio, J. H., & Tunio, S. N. J. (2025). Rural–Urban Disparities in COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Associated Mortality and Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes in the United States. Vaccines, 13(8), 861. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13080861