Assessment of Ethnic Inequities and Subpopulation Estimates in COVID-19 Vaccination in New Zealand.

Abstract

In this study, the choice of denominator affected coverage estimates disproportionately between ethnic groups. Because HSU only captures people who use health services, younger and marginalized populations are likely underrepresented, leading to overestimates of coverage in these groups. However, if we use census data we may underestimate subpopulation sizes of Pacific peoples,6 which could lead to underestimates of unvaccinated, highlighting the difficulties in using census data to estimate accurate subpopulation counts in dynamic, migrant populations. Although true disparities in vaccinations are unclear, ethnic minority groups should continue to be reached through targeted engagement. Without accurate census estimates of subpopulations aged under 25 years, our comparisons between HSU and census data are limited.

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