Why Are Black Americans Receiving the COVID-19 Vaccine at Lower Rates?

Key Takeaways

Despite being nearly four times as likely to be hospitalized for a severe case of COVID-19,Black Americans’ vaccination rates are significantly lower than that of White Americans, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis.

Several state reports show a stark racial disparity in vaccine distribution. In Indiana, 86.2% of the vaccinated population were White, but only 4.0% were Black.Tennessee’s vaccination rates also exhibit this contrast with more White people—69.56%—vaccinated than Black people—6.64%.Florida’s data shows that 64% of the residents who have been vaccinated were White, but only 5.1% were Black.Texas’ report, though largely incomplete, shows this disparity as well.

COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Tracker

What This Means For YouIf you can and are given the opportunity, you should receive the COVID-19 vaccine. If you’re worried about the safety of the vaccine, you can talk to a health professional, family relative, or authority figure in your community who has gotten vaccinated to hear their first-hand experiences.

What This Means For You

If you can and are given the opportunity, you should receive the COVID-19 vaccine. If you’re worried about the safety of the vaccine, you can talk to a health professional, family relative, or authority figure in your community who has gotten vaccinated to hear their first-hand experiences.

Why Is There a Disparity in Vaccination Rates?

Experts cite a number of issues fueling these numbers, from distrust of medical institutions to the accessibility of vaccine centers or appointments.

Accounting for Mistrust and Fear

Historically, the Black community in the U.S. has experienced mistreatment and violations of consent at the hands of the medical system.

Fear and mistrust over medical care stem from violations like these, but also from the continuous bias and unfair treatment that Black communities experience from healthcare systems to this day, resulting in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

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Accessibility Issues

Beyond the issue of vaccine hesitancy, inaccessibility is also a major factor. According to May, those without regular primary care providers, access to health centers, or information about how to sign-up for a vaccine are automatically disadvantaged in vaccine distribution. This doesn’t just result in racial disparities with the vaccination rates, but socioeconomic disparities as well.

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“Wealthy individuals always have first access to scientific advancements,” May tells Verywell. “They have access to regular primary care providers, connectedness to health centers, and, in many cases, even other means to getting the vaccine as soon as it is available to them.”

This can be observed in Florida’sMiami-Dade County, where wealthier neighborhoods get vaccinated at a faster rate than lower-income neighborhoods, and all the neighborhoods with vaccination rates above 10% are among the top 20 wealthiest ZIP codes in the county.

“We could be in a situation where White and affluent communities who took the vaccine are protected while the virus continues to circulate among Black and Brown populations,” May says, emphasizing that it will be difficult to reach herd immunity as a nation if the trends in vaccination inequities continue.

Crews highlights how vaccination centers aren’t accessible to those without personal means of transportation, so there is a pressing need to expand to rural communities where there is limited access to medical centers.

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“We should take the vaccine to where people of color are, as opposed to expecting them to find the vaccines themselves,” Crews says. “This would include offering vaccinations at churches, community centers and neighborhood pharmacies.”

On February 2, President Joe Biden announced that the federal government would be shipping vaccines directly to select pharmacies in order to increase accessibility.Soon those eligible will be able to make appointments at locations like CVS and Walgreens.

Experts say the vaccine should also be offered on weekends and outside of office hours to accommodate essential workers who can’t take time off of work to schedule appointments.

How to Bridge the Gap

To bridge these gaps in vaccination rates, government and public health officials must make racial and economic equity a priority in vaccine distribution and focus on improving its accessibility.

At a White House press briefing on Monday, Marcella Nunez-Smith, chair of Biden’s COVID-19 health equity task force, said that as of January 30, they were missing 47% of data on race and ethnicity from states.

There must be accurate, complete, and transparent data about race and ethnicity for vaccine distribution from all the states to quantify the problem, raise awareness, and address the disparities, May says.

In order to tackle vaccine hesitancy, experts suggest that public health professionals partner with trusted individuals in the Black community, such as religious leaders, physicians, and other community leaders, to combat misinformation and instill trust in the vaccine.

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The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit ourcoronavirus news page.

12 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Recht H, Weber L.Black Americans are getting vaccinated at lower rates than white Americans.Kaiser Health News.

Indiana State Department of Health.Indiana COVID-19 vaccination dashboard.

Tennessee Department of Health.COVID-19 vaccine information.

Florida Department of Health.COVID-19: Florida vaccine summary.

Texas Department of State Health Services.COVID-19 vaccination in Texas.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee.

John Hopkins Medicine.The legacy of Henrietta Lacks.

Kaiser Family Foundation.KFF COVID-19 vaccine monitor.

Hanks D, Conarck B.Miami-Dade’s wealthiest ZIP codes are also the most vaccinated for COVID-19, data shows. Miami Herald.

The White House.Fact sheet: President Biden announces increased vaccine supply, initial launch of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, and expansion of FEMA reimbursement to states.

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