Respondents said they do not plan to have the injection or are unsure whether they should or will receive the injection, according to a new survey released on Thursday by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
The survey found that only 49% of black adults plan to get the vaccine, with 19% of those saying they will get it immediately and 31% preferring to wait.
On the other hand, 31% of black adults say they will not receive the vaccine and 20% say they are not sure.
The findings come as data from many states reveal that white people are being vaccinated at an average of twice the rate of black people.
More than 20 states now report vaccination data for Covid-19 by race or ethnicity, and inequalities in vaccination for Covid-19 are present in all of them, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Blacks received a smaller share of vaccines than their share of Covid-19 cases in all 23 who reported this data, and the same applies to Hispanics in all 21 states that reported this data, the analysis concluded.
In most of these states, blacks and Hispanics also received a smaller share of Covid-19 vaccines than their share of Covid-19 deaths, with Vermont and Missouri as exceptions. In Vermont, the share of vaccinations among blacks was equal to the share of Covid-19 deaths among blacks, and in Vermont and Missouri, the share of vaccinations among Hispanics was greater than the share of Covid-19 deaths among Hispanics.
The Kaiser Family Foundation used data published on state websites as of Monday for analysis, along with case and death data from The COVID Tracking Project.
A CNN analysis of state vaccination data last week found that vaccine coverage is twice as high among whites, on average, than among blacks and Hispanics.
Older black adults and men more willing to get the vaccine
“The survey results underscore the need to build confidence in vaccines and the health system among black adults, including between younger age groups and women, who often make health decisions for their families,” NFID President Dr. Patricia N. Whitley-Williams said in a statement.
“Medical professionals and the health system in general must engage with black communities, address their concerns and convey the safety and importance of these vaccines in protecting against Covid-19 and flu.”
The survey, which was conducted in December 2020, also revealed that older black men and adults are more willing to get the Covid-19 vaccine. For example, 68% of [delete] adults aged 60 and over said they planned to get the vaccine, while only 38% of black adults aged 18 to 44 planned to get it. Many of the younger respondents expressed distrust in the health system, saying that they treat people unfairly based on race and ethnic origin, according to the survey results.
In addition, 59% of black women over 60 said they were willing to get the vaccine, compared with 78% of black men in that age group.
The survey found that nearly half of black adults are also reluctant to get the flu vaccine because of potential side effects and the belief that they will get the flu with the vaccine. Thirty-five percent say they will not receive the flu vaccine and 11% are unsure.
Renewed calls to prioritize equitable access
While vaccine hesitation remains a problem, health advocates and civil rights leaders say the federal government has failed to prioritize equitable access in communities of color. They say the government should partner with trusted leaders in the black community to help build confidence in the vaccine and reach their neighborhoods.
The NFID survey reflects these concerns with only 16% of black adults saying they believe that vaccines will be distributed equally.
Blacks and Latin Americans are dying from Covid-19 at a rate three times higher than whites and being hospitalized at a rate four times higher, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Previous studies have shown that many black Americans will not get the vaccine due to a history of racism in the country’s medical research. They point to Tuskegee’s 1932-1972 experiments that recruited 600 black men – 399 who had syphilis and 201 who did not – and monitored the progression of the disease by not treating the men when they died or suffered serious health problems.