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Black, Latin American and Native American seniors in Los Angeles County are receiving COVID-19 vaccination at a lower rate than white, Asian American and Pacific Islander seniors, according to data released Monday.
The findings raised new concerns about the inequity in the difficult roll-out of vaccines for those 65 and older and increased pressure on county leaders to do a better job of immunizing communities of color.
Only 7% of black residents aged 65 and over have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the lowest percentage of all racial and ethnic groups and less than half the comparable figure for elderly white residents. About 9% of Native American seniors and 14% of Latin American seniors received at least one dose.
In contrast, 17% of elderly white residents received at least one injection, as did 18% of elderly of Asian descent and 29% of indigenous Hawaiian / Pacific Islander seniors.
Seniors in LA County who were not in the previous priority groups of health workers and residents of long-term care facilities became eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines starting January 20.
Over a million cumulative doses have been administered in LA County.
“We are alarmed at the disproportionality that we are seeing in who received the vaccine,” said LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, who said she was particularly concerned about “the glaring inadequacy of the deployment of the vaccine. vaccine to date ”for black residents.
“This new data shows us that we need to make it easier to vaccinate Native American, Black and Latin American residents and workers in their communities by trusted providers,” Ferrer said Monday. “This is a top priority for the Ministry of Public Health. And we will continue to work with our community partners to ensure that not only are we getting everyone vaccinated quickly, but we are addressing the need to provide easier access to neighborhood sites and better access to accurate vaccine information. . “
Ferrer said the county is committed to increasing the number of vaccination sites in the hardest-hit areas. In all, 365 sites are offering vaccinations this week. Ten sites were added for Eastside and South LA, bringing the total number of sites in those areas to 14 and 35, respectively.
Ferrer said the county is also organizing mobile teams to start offering vaccines next week to residents of senior housing and senior centers in the hardest hit areas.
“We will also have community health workers in heavily affected communities, who can sometimes go block by block to provide information to residents on how to get vaccinated, help them register and dispel myths and information. incorrect information on the vaccine. Said Ferrer.
The disparity between those vaccinated is not limited to LA County. In northern California’s most populous county of Santa Clara, 18% of Latino and black seniors received at least one dose, while 28% of white seniors and 40% of Asian American seniors received at least one dose. minus one.
LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis noted that the racial and ethnic groups who have suffered the most in terms of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths are receiving fewer vaccines.
“It is completely unacceptable. And we’ll be sharing some of those changes in our vaccine rollout over the next few days to make sure it’s really fair, ”she said. “Frankly, I am disappointed, and I call on all of us, our departments and our health care providers, to take responsibility for ensuring that the vaccine reaches those who need it most.
While Los Angeles, like elsewhere in the state, is challenged by the simple fact that there aren’t enough vaccines circulating, Solis said the county is looking to step up efforts to ensure that the available doses are distributed equitably.
These strategies include the deployment of mobile immunization teams in elderly or government-run housing, as well as in homeless settlements “and other places where people cannot easily access transport.” , to make sure eligible Angelenos aren’t left behind, according to Solis.
“These are some of the first mobile units to be deployed in LA County, and we believe this model will help address the mobility and access issue once we develop these teams,” a- she declared.
While the county operates several large-scale sites that can vaccinate thousands of people a day, authorities are looking to establish a presence everywhere, so people can receive vaccines closer to home.
“The goal is indeed to eventually have vaccination sites everywhere, from schools to local community centers to trusted service providers based in lower-income neighborhoods,” Solis said. “Supply remains our biggest challenge, and the logistics of cold storage and the short shelf life of these vaccines are also obstacles in our mass vaccination campaign.”
Officials hope their efforts to promote equity will be boosted by the opening of a federal mass vaccination site in Cal State LA, which Solis says is expected to be operational by Feb. 16.
“Fairness is not just a buzzword,” Solis said. “It has to be a central part of how we make policy and deliver our services.”
Solis said in a statement on Monday afternoon that another tactic the county could employ is “to potentially book vaccine appointments to ensure those who need them most get a dose the most. early as possible. Information and instructions on how to make an appointment for the vaccination clearly have not reached those who need it most.
To address some of the inequalities residents face when getting vaccinated, Solis will present a motion to the supervisory board on Tuesday asking them to consider rerouting bus services to provide more direct access to major vaccination sites across the country. county.
“Until the COVID-19 vaccine is available in every neighborhood, there are significant inequalities like access to transportation that need to be addressed,” Solis said in the motion.
Supervisor Holly Mitchell, whose district includes a large percentage of black Los Angeles residents, said the county had far fewer vaccines than it needed, and administration of that small number of doses was still complicated by the multi-level state system.
“There’s nothing simple about this damn virus,” Mitchell said in an interview.
Mitchell said she and other black leaders have been pushing black residents on the importance of getting vaccinated, “saying, ‘When you’re on the list, whatever your category, please vaccinate’, to really trying to get past the fear that a lot of black people speak candidly about the health care delivery system.
The six new vaccination sites at local clinics and Rite-Aid sites in South Los Angeles are an attempt to get vaccines to where people live.
“The importance of being in the community in this context is that we ask them to come to a pre-existing trusted community resource,” she says.
But even when the county rolls out more sites, it can’t make significant progress without more supply.
“We have to get the product to be able to do it,” Mitchell said. “We have put in place the facilities to do this. We have ensured that areas that do not naturally have pharmacies have other entities able to stand up to provide the vaccine. Great, we’ve done all of that – now we need the vaccine.
Councilor Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who represents South LA, criticized the way the vaccines were distributed. At a recent city council meeting, he expressed concern about the government’s initial strategy of getting vaccines to large sites like the Forum in Inglewood. He said his constituents “do not go to any place with a large crowd of people” and criticized the demographic makeup of those shot at the scene as not being representative of the neighboring community.
Large vaccination sites “tend to reinforce some of the inequalities exposed by the pandemic,” Harris-Dawson said. He suggested getting the vaccines to health care providers who have a long history of trusting neighboring residents. Two weeks ago, Harris-Dawson asked at a city council meeting that city officials be prepared to deploy mobile units.
Last week, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city had a program in place to “provide mobile vaccination clinics to communities that have suffered the highest rate of illness and death from COVID -19 ”. He said the program has started in the Harris-Dawson district, providing “vaccines directly to the community, to the elderly who need to be vaccinated but who cannot necessarily walk or drive to a center. vaccination.
Latino and black residents have been disproportionately hit by the pandemic. In LA County, Latinos experience 40 deaths per 100,000 population per day; for black residents, the figure is 20; and for Asian American residents, 17. There are 14 deaths per 100,000 white residents per day.
Councilor Kevin de León said the data was not shocking, as people of color have faced repeated obstacles to getting vaccinated. He said officials should focus on communities with the highest death rates.
It “defies all reason” that residents living in areas with low infection rates can go to those with high rates and get vaccinated, De León said. “If there is a house in the neighborhood on fire, you rush to put water on that house. Not on other houses that aren’t burning. And that’s how they do it.
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