Blacks, with low immunization rates, risk being disproportionately excluded from mandates

EEfforts to increase immunization coverage through warrants could disproportionately prevent blacks from frequenting businesses and dining, among other normal activities of life, due to relatively low vaccine use.

“There is a risk that people of color who have not been vaccinated will be disproportionately denied services because of [vaccine mandates]Said Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. “The solution to this, of course, is to get vaccinated. “

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In the United States, blacks have the lowest vaccination rates of any racial or ethnic group. Although complete and up-to-date statistics are not available, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the share of blacks vaccinated is about 6 to 7 percentage points lower than that of whites or Hispanics and 10 percentage points. lower than that of Asians. The CDC’s breakdown by demographic, however, reflects less than 70% of all strokes administered since December 2020.

Vaccination hesitancy rates among blacks and whites are similar, according to NPR / Marist Polling – 25% and 28% respectively, suggesting that access to vaccines is a greater barrier for blacks. Measures of racial reluctance to immunize overlook barriers to access, Benjamin said, such as difficulties in taking time off work to get immunized, as well as other “structural things that get in the way. disproportionately immunizing communities of color “.

New York, Washington and other states, as well as private companies like Walmart and Google, have started imposing vaccine requirements on workers in order to keep their jobs. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that those wishing to engage in leisure activities, such as indoor dining and museum visits, will need to provide proof of vaccination. The most forceful measures to reduce the number of blocked vaccines come after months of trying to attract citizens with promises of perks like cash prizes and free cocktails.

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Democrats have been much more willing to implement mandates for workers in the private and public sectors. But Boston’s acting mayor Kim Janey, a black woman ruling a city with a population of 25% black, broke with fellow Democrats by resisting a vaccination mandate for officials. She compared compulsory vaccination policies to post-Civil War racist policies that required black people to show their identity papers.

“There’s a long history in this country of people having to show their papers – that we were talking about this from the point of view of… during slavery, after slavery, as recent as, you know, what the people immigrant must cross, ”she said last week. “We heard from Trump, with the birth certificate nonsense.”

After revisiting the analogies with slavery, Janey maintained her argument against the warrants, saying they could also delay the country’s economic rebound further, as far fewer people would be able to participate in the trade.

The highly transmissible delta variant has increased new cases of COVID-19 nationwide, giving public health officials a greater sense of urgency to vaccinate large swathes of the population as soon as possible. The United States is now reporting more than 100,000 new cases per day for the first time since early February.

“The problem is that we are now in a situation where there are huge compromises. … We are not looking at the original virus [strain], said Benjamin. “We are now looking at a much more infectious virus in an environment where there is no reason why you cannot get the vaccine unless there is a medical reason why you cannot. “

The Biden administration has sought ways to increase vaccination coverage in black communities by establishing vaccination sites and information centers in predominantly black churches, recruiting black-owned hair salons and salons. to promote the vaccine, among other awareness raising measures.

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While reluctance to vaccinate in communities of color is a barrier to preventing even more transmissible and virulent strains of coronavirus, survey data indicates that 40% of unvaccinated blacks and Hispanics are ready to do so. vaccinate, while only 26% say they “definitely won’t” get the shots.

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Keywords: News, Health, Coronavirus, CDC, Vaccination, Bill de Blasio, Andrew Cuomo, Biden Administration, Race and Diversity, African Americans

Original author: Cassidy Morrison

Original location: Blacks, with low immunization rates, risk being disproportionately excluded from mandates