Rep. Grace Meng
Grace MengRemember that Asian Democratic voters see increased turnout among Pacific Islander Asian American voters. Five House Democrats who could join the Biden Office MORE (DN.Y.) on Sunday, called in Xavier Becerra
Xavier BecerraGoodwin Liu’s background and experience make him the ideal choice for California Attorney General Braun: Biden should reconsider HHS divisional nominee Xavier Becerra Biden, a cabinet gradually confirmed by the Senate MORE, Appointed by President Biden as Secretary of Health and Human Services, to collect and provide data detailing the demographics of vaccine administration in order to address health inequalities among vulnerable populations.
“Racial inequalities in health, justice, housing, employment and education have been spreading and are deeply embedded in the social fabric of our nation,” Meng said in a statement. “Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, other minority groups, the LGBTQI community and disabled Americans struggled to achieve true equality before the national health pandemic took place.”
Meng is currently trying to get other lawmakers to sign a letter to Becerra, which she plans to send on Monday.
“A national demographic analysis of the administered COVID-19 vaccines is essential for Congress to assess and resolve where the gaps in the launch of the COVID-19 vaccination are,” wrote Meng. “This information will also be critical to addressing health disparities and long-term racial inequalities among vulnerable populations.”
“Everyone should be vaccinated and communities of color should have equal access,” said Meng.
In his letter, Meng asked what vaccine administration data has been received from states and territories so far, whether the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collected demographic data on vaccines and what the government agency planned to do to resolve “ social vulnerability ”in the distribution of vaccines.
As communities of color, particularly black and Hispanic communities, were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, the data suggested that they received comparatively smaller portions of the vaccine when compared to wealthier white populations.
Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to work in jobs that expose them to the virus and are more likely to suffer from a more severe case of the virus due to underlying health problems.
In addition to the lack of access, the hesitation of the vaccine may also have contributed to the lower rate of immunization in these communities. A recent Pew Research study found that 42% of black Americans said they would receive the vaccine, compared with more than 60% of white and Hispanic adults.
Biden’s nominee for General Surgeon, Vivek Murthy
Vivek MurthyBill and Melinda Gates warn that the pandemic could trigger Biden ‘immunity inequality’ to appoint the nurse as a general surgeon: report shows Sunday – Biden’s agenda, Trump impeachment trial dominate MORE, addressed the apparent inequality in an interview last week and appeared to share Meng’s request for demographic data to be collected.
“We already know from the COVID crisis last year that there are certain communities that have been hit hard by this virus, that rural communities have had more difficulty obtaining resources, that communities of color have more cases and deaths, that the elderly have been fighting , especially those in long-term care facilities, ”said Murthy.
“We have to make sure that we have data on where the vaccine is being administered, so that we can ensure that it is, in fact, being distributed fairly,” added Murthy.