White people are being vaccinated at higher rates than blacks and Latin Americans, according to a recent analysis from CNN data from 14 states that provided the information. However, the reality may be even worse and public health experts will not know until other states become more transparent about who is being vaccinated.
Blacks, Indians and Latinos not only contract coronavirus at disproportionately higher rates, but are also more likely to be hospitalized and die, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Meantime, research show Black healthcare professionals are almost twice as likely to contract COVID-19.
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“My concern now is if we don’t vaccinate the high-risk population, we will see even more disproportionate deaths in black and brown communities,” Fola May, a UCLA physician and health equity researcher, told reporters. “It breaks my heart.”
So, why is this happening? Latinos are as willing as white Americans to be vaccinated, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center in December, while the Indians and Asians are even more willing. And while less than half of black Americans said they would definitely or probably get one if it were available that day, more recent research shows Americans’ desire to be vaccinated has increased as more vaccines become available.
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But it’s not as simple as just goodwill.
“Those with the time, computer systems and transportation will get more vaccines than other people – that’s the reality,” said Thomas Dobbs, Mississippi state health officer told NBC earlier this month when the Trump administration moved to accelerate the distribution rate.
These people are richer and whiter in many places, Including the nation’s capital, where employees have not yet published race and ethnicity data. The lack of Internet access, transport and access to health care are the main barriers to vaccination.
“This is what structural racism looks like,” Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told reporters. “These groups were seen and not heard – nobody thought about that.”
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