Survey: In Vermont, pandemic's impact falling disproportionately on lower income groups

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/uov-siv061520.php

News Release 15-Jun-2020
University of Vermont

High percentages of Vermonters agree with the social distancing measures put in place by the state in response to the coronavirus pandemic and have complied with them, according to a new survey. But their attitudes and actions, while protecting their health, have come at a significant economic cost, especially for low income Vermonters, one of several ways in which poorer Vermonters have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

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Those living in apartments and mobile homes and at the lower end of the income scale had more contact with other adults, seniors and children after the lockdown than those living in single family homes and condos and higher income Vermonters, who could often work from home.

"For the less well-off and especially those on the margins, the pandemic presented much more of a health risk than for more affluent Vermonters," said Eline van den Broek-Altenburg, an assistant professor and vice chair for Population Health Science in the Department of Radiology at the Larner College of Medicine's and the survey's principal investigator.

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As with social distancing, the economic impact was not felt equally, van den Broek-Altenburg said.

"Lower income Vermonters are being hit disproportionately," she said. "That's largely because those in higher income groups tend to have jobs where they can tele-work from home. That's not an option for most low-income workers, so many lost their jobs and their income."

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