Blacks and Hispanics are being vaccinated against coronavirus at much lower rates than whites, despite being disproportionately affected by the pandemic, according to preliminary data from the CDC.
© Mary Altaffer / AP Photo
People line up for their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on January 26 outside St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the Bronx neighborhood of New York.
Initial CDC data released on Monday show stark disparities among the inoculated, while highlighting serious gaps between communities.
Demographic data: The agency released demographic data for the first month of the country’s vaccination campaign. But race and ethnicity were known to only about half of the 12.9 million Americans who received the vaccine between December 14 and January 14, emphasizing the need for more complete data reports, the agency wrote.
More than 60 percent of those vaccinated were white. More than 14 percent reported that they were of various races or other races or ethnicities; 11.5 percent were Hispanic; 6 percent were Asian; just over 5 percent were black; and 2% were American Indians or Alaskan natives.
Video: Nearly 90,000 Delawareans have been vaccinated so far (CBS Philadelphia)
Click to expand
NEXT
“I am concerned about how late we are,” said Marcella Nunez-Smith, leader of the Biden government’s Health Equity Task Force, at a news conference on Monday. “We must treat these insufficient data points as an urgent priority.”
In addition, about 63 percent of those vaccinated were women and about 55 percent were 50 or older.
Absorption of vaccines in nursing homes: A second CDC report released on Monday confirmed anecdotal reports that consumption of coronavirus vaccination is high among nursing home residents, but low among employees.
Nearly 11,500 nursing homes had at least one vaccination clinic through a federal pharmaceutical partnership between December 18 and January 17. An average of almost 78 percent of residents received the vaccine, while a median of just 37 percent of employees per unit decided to be vaccinated.
Why it matters: President Joe Biden wants an equitable distribution of the coronavirus vaccine, but preliminary reports show how much land needs to be reclaimed.
Keep reading