|
|
|
Early
U.S.
data
indicates
Blacks,
Hispanics
lagging
in
COVID-19
vaccinations
Reuters
Staff
reuters.com
ATLANTA
- Early
data on
U.S.
coronavirus
vaccinations
released
on
Monday
suggests
that
Blacks
and
Hispanics
received
a
smaller
proportion
of shots
than
their
representation
among
healthcare
workers
and
nursing
home
residents,
two
priority
groups
for
COVID-19
inoculations.
The
United
States
needs
more
complete
data on
the race
and
ethnicity
of
people
who have
been
vaccinated,
said the
U.S.
Centers
for
Disease
Control
and
Prevention
(CDC),
which
released
the
data.
Blacks
and
Hispanics
have
been
particularly
hard hit
by
COVID-19
with a
disproportionate
number
of
deaths,
and
public
health
officials
have
broadly
called
for
equity
in
vaccine
distribution.
Race
data was
only
available
for
about
half of
the 12.9
million
people
vaccinated
in the
United
States
between
Dec. 14,
2020 and
Jan. 14,
2021.
Blacks
received
5.4% of
shots
reported
with
race/ethnicity
data,
the CDC
said,
despite
national
data
showing
they
made up
16% of
healthcare
workers
and 14%
of
nursing
home
residents,
two
groups
prioritized
for the
first
wave of
vaccinations.
Hispanics
received
11.5% of
the
shots,
according
to the
available
data,
while
making
up 13%
of
healthcare
workers
and 5%
of
nursing
home
residents.
Whites
received
60.4% of
shots
and
accounted
for 60%
of
healthcare
workers
and 75%
of
nursing
home
residents.
Marcella
Nunez-Smith,
chair of
the
Biden
administration’s
COVID-19
Health
Equity
Task
Force,
told
reporters
on
Monday
that the
data so
far
suggests
that
Black
Americans
and
other
non-white
groups
are not
being
vaccinated
at the
same
rate as
white
Americans.
She
added
that she
thinks
that if
data had
been
collected
for
everyone
who
received
shots,
it would
show an
even
greater
imbalance.
New
York
City on
Sunday
reported
that
while
Blacks
made up
24% of
the
city’s
population,
according
to 2019
data,
they
have so
far
sought
and
received
only 11%
of
coronavirus
vaccinations.
The
federal
data
showed
that of
those
for whom
racial/ethnic
data was
reported,
14.4%
were
reported
as
multiple/other,
6.0%
Asian
and 2.0%
American
Indian
or
Alaskan
Natives,
the
study
showed.
In
addition
to the
limited
availability
of
racial
data,
the CDC
said the
report
also had
to
contend
with
varying
criteria
for
administering
shots
among
states
and
vaccination
centers.
Reporting
by Manas
Mishra
in
Bengaluru;
additional
reporting
by Carl
O’Donnell
in New
York;
Editing
by Steve
Orlofsky
and Bill
Berkrot
|
|
|
|
|
|