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Immunization clinics run by the University of Alabama at Birmingham have issued more vaccines to minorities than national and state averages, statistics showed on Wednesday.
About 31% of vaccines issued by UAB went to minorities, with almost 21% to black patients. Almost 27% of Alabama’s population is black. UAB staff also delivered about 7% of vaccines to Asians and 3% to Hispanics. The majority, 67%, went to white patients. About 69% of Alabama’s population is white.
A report from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released in early February found that blacks made up 5.4% of those vaccinated in the first month of vaccination among places that were tracking data by race.
“From the start, we have been determined in our planning and outreach to make equity a central focus of our immunization efforts,” said Dr Sarah Nafziger, Vice President of Clinical Operations at UAB Hospital. “Although our initial results are better than the national average with black communities, we are not satisfied and will continue our efforts to increase awareness among under-represented groups.”
Minorities face higher risks than whites of contracting COVID-19 and suffering complications leading to hospitalization and death. The risk of hospitalization is about three times higher for blacks and Hispanics than for whites, according to the CDC, raising concerns about the slow pace of vaccinations in these communities.
UAB operates three vaccination clinics in the Birmingham area. The most recent site to open at AH Parker High School is located near underserved communities and designed to provide photos to people who may not have internet or transportation access. A Jefferson County program provides residents of the community with free or discounted trips to vaccination sites.
Winter weather earlier this week closed some of the drive-through clinics, but they reopened on Thursday.
According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, nearly 12% of those vaccinated in the state are black and 55% are white. But 28% of recipients did not declare a race, according to the Vaccines Dashboard.
UAB staff and volunteers delivered 59,167 vaccines, or 10 percent of the state’s total. Nafziger said the healthcare system has the capacity to increase those numbers, depending on supply.
“We believe that we have the capacity to deliver up to 20,000 doses of vaccine per week with the current structure that we have in place,” said Nafziger. “But we are not receiving enough vaccine to supply our sites to this level, and our allocations have declined. We will continue to work with the Alabama Department of Public Health, and when they give us the vaccine, we will deliver it quickly and efficiently to eligible people.
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