Unequal Lives: A Sociodemographic Analysis of Covid19 Transmission and Mortality in India

The hierarchy of social structures shape, in very particular and measurable ways, the differential impact that a disease has on different parts of society. In this study, we use district-level disease data to perform an ecological analysis of Covid19 outcomes in India vis a vis the local socioeconomic gradient. Average doubling times and case fatality ratios have been quantified as measures of transmission and mortality, respectively, and association analysis performed with twenty variables of socioeconomic vulnerability. Persistent patterns are observed between disease outcome and social inequality, linking poor living conditions to a faster spread, an elderly populace to a slower spread, and both a college education and the presence of medical facilities to low fatality rates.