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A CNN analysis of data from 14 states found that vaccination coverage is twice as high among whites on average than among blacks and Latin Americans. The analysis found that on average, more than 4% of the white population received a Covid-19 vaccine, about 2.3 times higher than the black population (1.9% covered) and 2.6 times more higher than the Hispanic population (1.8% covered).
Black Americans and Latin Americans are already dying from Covid-19 at three times the rate of white people and being hospitalized at a rate four times the rate, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health experts and advocates say the federal government can help alleviate disparities by strengthening partnerships with leaders and churches in black and Latin communities – and be intentional not to leave people of color out of immunization efforts .
How to make sure that “ everyone understands this ”
Hospitals, for example, need to ensure that all of their staff, including food and maintenance staff, receive all correspondence regarding registering for the vaccine, Dr Georges said. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.
Black, Latino and Asian Americans make up 41% of healthcare workers, while 59% are white, according to Kaiser. And the majority of workers in long-term health care facilities, 52%, are people of color.
Benjamin said the vaccine should also be given outside of traditional hours so that people who work hourly, frontline jobs, do not have to quit their jobs. Communities, he said, should consider a plan to transport poor families without vehicles to health facilities to receive the vaccine.
“You have to say, ‘I want to make sure everyone understands this,’” Benjamin said. “We need to make sure that we think about all the ways that people can give in (to get the vaccine) and we need to make sure we have a vaccine available for them when they call.”
Some researchers have said it is alarming to have disparities so early in the process when most of those vaccinated are healthcare workers.
Dr Fola May, a health equity researcher at UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity, said she would expect healthcare workers to be the most knowledgeable and least hesitant about Science.
May be concerned this indicates greater racial differences when the vaccine becomes widely available.
“I think we botched this,” May said. “If we see it in this population that should have the least anti-science bias, then when we look at the larger populations, we’re going to have even fewer people with the right information and access.
A “ warning flag ” on racial inequalities
In many states, the number of whites vaccinated exceeds the number of Covid-19 cases for their racial group, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Meanwhile, blacks and Latinos have fewer vaccinations than their number of cases and deaths in some of those same states.
For example, in Pennsylvania, blacks account for 13% of Covid-19-related deaths but only 3% of vaccinations.
Pennsylvania also has the most striking disparity: Whites were vaccinated four times as many as blacks taking into account the population of each racial group, according to CNN’s analysis.
Andrea Custis, president and chief executive officer of the Philadelphia City League, said vaccine data in Pennsylvania raises a “warning flag” on racial inequalities and the federal government urgently needs to address it.
Custis said she believed the black community was less and less hesitant about the vaccine after seeing other black Americans receive the vaccine and administer it. Last month, a Kaiser study found that more than a third of black Americans would probably or certainly not receive the vaccine if it was found safe by scientists and widely available for free.
But Custis said if the federal government allowed “trusted messengers” to help roll out the vaccine and educate the public, black people would be vaccinated.
“Those who die, those who need it are black people,” Custis said. “Everyone needs it, but you have a fire in the black community and you have to run to the community to get them vaccinated.
What Biden’s 5-point plan means for blacks and latinos
Black pastors and community advocates are also urging President Joe Biden’s administration to act quickly on its pledge to reach communities of color with the vaccine and rely on them to help do so.
“I think the biggest problem we have with the vaccine is the distribution methods and availability,” said Debra Fraser-Howze, founder of Choose Healthy Life – a national group of black pastors who are fighting the impact of the pandemic on the black community. “All real estate in the community should be used.”
Fraser-Howze said the administration of former President Donald Trump had failed to partner with black churches and trusted leaders who could help administer the vaccine and reach people of color who qualify for them. early stages but who hesitate or do not know where to get vaccinated. She said she was convinced that Choose Health Life and other black advocacy groups could help increase the number of black people getting vaccinated.
Biden’s five-point plan includes setting up federally supported vaccination centers in high-risk neighborhoods, setting up mobile vaccination sites in medically underserved areas, delivering the vaccine in independent pharmacies, partnering with community health centers and setting up high-risk facilities such as prisons and homeless shelters. have access to the vaccine.
“We are going to make sure that there are vaccination centers in the communities hardest hit by the pandemic, in black and Latin American communities as well as in rural communities,” said Biden.
CNN’s Nathaniel Meyersohn and Priya Krishnakumar contributed to this report.
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