3 Epidemiology of COVID-19
Unit Authored by:
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Lesley L. Green-Rennis, EdD, MPH, MCHES. Chairperson, Professor, Health Education Department, Borough of Manhattan Community College – City University of New York.
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Grace Tursi-Wenzler. Program Director, Nuclear Medicine Technology, Bronx Community College.
Goals:
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To identify COVID-19 statistics relating to incidence, spread and control of the disease, focusing on vaccination status, cases and deaths.
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To examine the data looking for disparities in vaccination status within diverse demographic communities.
Learning Objectives:
- To identify trends within COVID-19 cases and vaccination status.
- To examine how COVID-19 related deaths relate to vaccination status.
- To explore how COVID-19 vaccination status varies within different race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic groups.
Unit Table of Contents
Epidemiology is the “study of distribution and determinants of health-related states among specified populations and the application of that study to the control of health problems.”
The purposes of epidemiology are to:
- Discover the agent, host, and environmental factors that affect health
- Determine the relative importance of causes of illness, disability, and death
- Identify those segments of the population that have the greatest risk from specific causes of ill health
- Evaluate the effectiveness of health programs and services in improving population health
Key words in epidemiology include:
- Epidemic or outbreak: disease occurrence among a population that is in excess of what is expected in a given time and place.
- Cluster: group of cases in a specific time and place that might be more than expected.
- Endemic: disease or condition present among a population at all times.
- Incidence: the occurrence of new cases of disease or injury in a population over a specified period of time.
- Morbidity: disease, injury, or disability; any departure from a state of physiological or psychological well-being.
- Mortality: death
- Pandemic: a disease or condition that spreads across regions.
- Prevalence: number of current cases (new and existing) over a specified period of time.
- Rate: a number of cases occurring during a specific period; always dependent on the size of the population during that period.
- Vaccinated: treat with a vaccine to produce immunity against a disease. As of June 2022, everyone 6 months of age and older is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
- Fully vaccinated: adults ages 18 and older are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after final dose in primary series. The primary series of COVID-19 vaccines includes 2 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine given 3-8 weeks apart, or 1 dose of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.
- Booster: Booster vaccine doses are recommended for most people at least 5 months after the final dose in the primary Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, at least 2 months after a Johnson & Johnson primary vaccine dose.
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