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Just weeks after the difficult launch of the coronavirus vaccine in California, evidence is emerging of inequities in who receives the drug, leading to growing demand for vulnerable communities to be given more attention.
Los Angeles County officials have expressed concern over low vaccine counts among southern Los Angeles healthcare workers and other communities of color, while advocates for essential workers fear the new priority plan California vaccines slow their ability to get vaccinated despite the dangers inherent in their job.
The county public health department on Tuesday released population data showing a significantly lower vaccination rate for healthcare workers who live in South Los Angeles, which is home to large populations of black and Latino residents, compared to to other regions.
Public health director Barbara Ferrer told the watchdog that her agency was “particularly concerned” about the low vaccination rate for healthcare workers living in South Los Angeles. In response, the county will open six vaccination sites there, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital outpatient center, St. John’s Well Child & Family Center and three Rite Aid pharmacies.
“There may be many issues that contribute to the lower immunization rates that we are seeing in some communities, but the only issue we don’t want to have because of a lower immunization rate is that it doesn’t. there was not good access to places for people to get vaccinated, ”Ferrer said.
Data presented did not include vaccinations donated by Pasadena and Long Beach Health Departments, Walgreens or CVS, or major healthcare systems, including Kaiser Permanente. But it showed that the number of doses given to workers who live on the west side, west of the San Fernando Valley, the South Bay and parts of the San Gabriel Valley was relatively higher than in the south of Los Angeles.
But even with the incomplete snapshot, supervisor Hilda Solis said it was clear there was a disparity between black healthcare workers who were vaccinated compared to other racial groups. She said the rates among Native American residents and Latinos were also far too low.
“I know there are a lot of other populations that are getting the vaccine at higher rates than others, and I would just like to ask: what are we going to do?” Said Solis.
Among county health workers, black workers have asked to be vaccinated at rates well below those of any other racial or ethnic group, another worrying trend.
Of just over 4,000 black employees, just under a third have received the vaccine. More than half have not requested it, according to data from the Department of Health Services.
Other racial and ethnic groups experience much higher vaccination rates.
Of 7,500 Latin American health workers in the county’s health services department, about half have received the COVID-19 vaccine and an additional 15% have requested it. The majority of Asian American and white employees have also received or requested the vaccine.
Dr Christina Ghaly, director of the agency, said this was a trend seen not only among county health workers, but also in private hospitals and clinics in LA County.
Black employees said they did not get the vaccine because they still had a lot of questions about the vaccine, as if it could cause COVID-19, she said. (This is not possible; the vaccine does not include the coronavirus.)
Ferrer said some people prefer to wait a bit before getting the shot until they see other people getting it, and she said that was okay.
“We are very confident that the available data indicates that this is very safe and effective,” Ferrer said.
Experts have long expected vaccine reluctance to be a problem, including among those who face long-standing systemic racism in the healthcare system, fueling mistrust in some communities.
According to the Pew Research Center, only 32% of black adults nationwide say they would definitely or likely take a COVID-19 vaccine.
“We have a long history in this country and in other countries that make it difficult for people to trust some of the medical advances that we are promoting,” Ferrer said.
The inequalities arise amid a growing debate about state deployment plans. Vaccines remain scarce and appointment slots have reportedly filled up at sites across the state. To date, more than 2.5 million doses have been administered statewide, and more than 4.6 million doses have been shipped to local health services and providers.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement on Monday that the state would start prioritizing immunizations for people based on their age has raised concerns from groups representing some essential workers and people with disabilities who may now have to wait Longer.
Prior to Newsom’s announcement, the state intended to prioritize several new groups once California completes immunizing people 65 and older, including residents of incarcerated and homeless settings. essential workers and people with underlying health problems.
It is now unclear when these groups would be vaccinated.
Officials said California will implement a statewide eligibility standard from mid-February – allowing those working in education and child care, childcare services to urgency and the agricultural and food sector to start making appointments for vaccines while awaiting availability. Healthcare workers and people over 65 would also remain a priority.
“Californians were understandably confused by the mixed messages, the variability of eligibility across the state, ‘When it’s my turn, who’s going next?'” Said Yolanda Richardson, secretary of the Government Operations Agency. State, during a briefing Tuesday.
A more uniform framework, she said, “will make it easier for Californians to understand who is eligible to make an appointment to be vaccinated.”
State officials insist that fairness remains a key factor in how the vaccine is deployed.
“We don’t want fairness and speed to be at odds with each other,” added Dr. Mark Ghaly, California Secretary of Health and Human Services. “It is an important principle of fairness to vaccinate those who are disproportionately affected [doses] quickly.”
Part of that equation, he said in a briefing on Tuesday, is “making sure we have real-time data” to assess whether these efforts are paying off and making adjustments if necessary.
A slide he presented offered additional considerations – that “vaccines will be allocated to ensure that low-income neighborhoods and communities of color have access” and that “providers will be compensated in part by their ability to reach underserved communities. “
Mark Ghaly said that “the worst part is when people don’t know where they are” and by adjusting its processes, the state “listens to a lot of comments, makes what I would say are tough decisions, but try to make sure they are clear and easy to follow. “
“Using an age-based framework helps us achieve this,” he said.
Not everyone agrees.
A coalition of more than 60 community organizations on Tuesday urged Newsom to reconsider its decision.
The new approach would leave hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers, inmates and homeless people vulnerable to the deadly virus, said Najee Ali, an activist from South Los Angeles and member of the Community Response System of South Los Angeles coalition. .
“It’s a life and death situation for black and Latino essential workers,” he said.
County supervisor Holly Mitchell said she was concerned the state was moving towards a vaccine delivery framework that “does not meet what is really needed to deliver a truly fair and ethical immunization program when you are looking at communities that are disproportionately affected by the virus ”.
Mitchell noted that Latino residents of LA County are dying from COVID-19 at three times the rate of white residents, and the death rate from COVID-19 among people living in poorer neighborhoods in LA County is almost four times the rate of residents of the richest areas.
“If our ultimate goal is to reduce infections, hospitalizations, and death rates, we need to figure out how to target those who are really most at risk,” Mitchell said.
Disability advocates also fear being excluded from the criteria.
“It looks like this is more bad news for people with disabilities,” Disability Rights California’s Andy Imparato said after Mark Ghaly’s briefing. “They mentioned race and marginalized populations, but didn’t mention people with disabilities.”
Solis said some residents of LA County had traveled far to get the shot. On Friday, Solis said more than 100 seniors received their first dose at LA County-USC Medical Center in Boyle Heights.
“I met an 82-year-old woman online pushing her son who uses a wheelchair… and I was so impressed with his resilience,” Solis said. A 67-year-old man took three buses from South Gate to get the shot before heading to his restaurant job in Downey.
Solis asked why he had come, and he replied, “Because it is a matter of my life, and also of providing for my family.”
Erika D. Smith, editor of The Times, contributed to this report.
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