COVID-19 Case and Death Rates by Vaccination Status and Age

CDC data tracks COVID-19 case and death rates stratified by vaccination status, booster dose receipt, and age group. The dataset includes metrics like crude incidence rates (`crude_vax_ir`) and age-adjusted incidence rate ratios (`age_adj_vax_irr`). It was published by data.cdc.gov, with records covering cases through September 24, 2022, and deaths through September 3, 2022.

Use Cases

• Analyze `age_adj_vax_irr` and `crude_irr` to compare infection and mortality risk between vaccinated and unvaccinated cohorts across different `age_group` categories.
• Model temporal trends in `outcome` rates using `mmwr_week` and `month` fields to assess the impact of policy changes on case and death counts.
• Investigate the effect of booster doses by calculating rates from columns like `crude_one_booster_ir`, `two_boosted_with_outcome`, and corresponding population denominators (`one_booster_population`).
• Assess potential reporting biases by examining `continuity_correction` values and discrepancies between crude (`crude_unvax_ir`) and age-adjusted (`age_adj_unvax_ir`) rates.

Strengths

• Dataset provides over 30 specific columns for detailed analysis of vaccination status, including multiple incidence rate and ratio calculations.
• Clear temporal coverage specified for cases (through September 24, 2022) and deaths (through September 3, 2022).
• Data includes breakdowns by `vaccine_product` for primary series and tracks multiple booster dose statuses.

Limitations

• Data is stale, with the last specimen collection dates being in September 2022, limiting relevance to current variants and immunity landscapes.
• The dataset description notes an inability to distinguish booster doses from additional doses in immunocompromised persons, a known confounder.
• Key metadata like total row count, sample size, and geographic coverage are unavailable, making it difficult to assess statistical power.

Provenance

Source

data.cdc.gov, sourced from CDC’s COVID Data Tracker.

Collection Method

Aggregated from health department reports and vital records, with vaccination status verified against immunization records.

Time Range

Cases through September 24, 2022; deaths through September 3, 2022. Data posted October 2022, revised February 2023.

Freshness

Archived in November 2022 and revised in February 2023; no ongoing updates indicated.

Geography

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