A pandemic, like other disasters, changes how systems work. In order to support research on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the dynamics of a single metropolitan area and the communities therein, we developed and made publicly available a “data-support system” for the city of Boston. We actively gathered data from multiple administrative (e.g., 911 and 311 dispatches, building permits) and internet sources (e.g., Yelp, Craigslist), capturing aspects of housing and land use, crime and disorder, and commercial activity and institutions. All the data were linked spatially through BARI’s Geographical Infrastructure, enabling conjoint analysis. We curated the base records and aggregated them to construct ecometric measures (i.e., descriptors of a place) at various geographic scales, all of which were also published as part of the database. The datasets were published in an open repository, each accompanied by a detailed documentation of methods and variables. We anticipate updating the database annually to maintain the tracking of the records and associated measures.

We combined survey, mobility, and infections data in greater Boston, MA to simulate the effects of racial disparities in the inclination to become vaccinated on continued infection rates and the attainment of herd immunity. The simulation projected marked inequities, with communities of color experiencing infection rates 3 times higher than predominantly White communities and reaching herd immunity 45 days later on average. Persuasion of individuals uncertain about vaccination was crucial to preventing the worst inequities but could only narrow them so far because 1/5th of Black and Latinx individuals said that they would never vaccinate. The results point to a need for well-crafted, compassionate messaging that reaches out to those most resistant to the vaccine.