Connected in health: Place-to-place commuting networks and COVID-19 spillovers

Biweekly county COVID-19 data were linked with Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics data to analyze population risk exposures enabled by pre-pandemic, country-wide commuter networks. Results from fixed-effects, spatial, and computational statistical approaches showed that commuting network exposure to COVID-19 predicted an area's COVID-19 cases and deaths, indicating spillovers. Commuting spillovers between counties were independent from geographic contiguity, pandemic-time mobility, or social media ties. Results suggest that commuting connections form enduring social linkages with effects on health that can withstand mobility disruptions. Findings contribute to a growing relational view of health and place, with implications for neighborhood effects research and place-based policies. •Place-to-place commuting enables COVID-19 spillovers, beyond geographic spillovers.•Analyses rely on fixed-effects, spatial, and computational statistical approaches.•Pre-pandemic commuting mattered despite mobility disruptions during the pandemic.•Inter-county commuting mattered beyond social media ties and local mobility.•Large-scale commuting networks represent a unique influence on health and place.