How Covid Testing Missed Many of Charlotte's Black Neighborhoods
In mid-May 2020, North Carolina’s health department directed the public to covid testing sites. In Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte, just 1 in 4 stood in more disadvantaged areas with significant Black populations. Mobile testing units visited Black neighborhoods and were typically on site for six to seven hours.
Mobile units
Fixed sites
Vulnerability during
a disease outbreak,
per the CDC’s Social
Vulnerability Index
Low
Low-medium
Medium-high
High
Mobile units
Fixed sites
Vulnerability during
a disease outbreak,
per the CDC’s Social
Vulnerability Index
Low
Low-medium
Medium-high
High
Covid Testing Sites
Vulnerability during
a disease outbreak,
per the CDC’s Social
Vulnerability Index
Fixed
Mobile
Low
Low-medium
Medium-high
High
Covid Testing Sites
Vulnerability during
a disease outbreak,
per the CDC’s Social
Vulnerability Index
Fixed
Mobile
Low
Low-medium
Medium-high
High
Note: The CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index rates every U.S. county and census tract on factors such as poverty, housing, access to transportation, race, and ethnicity to predict its ability to prepare for, cope with, and recover from health emergencies and disasters.
Source: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services; CDC Social Vulnerability Index; KFF Health News reporting
Credit: Holly Hacker and Lydia Zuraw/KFF Health News