As Texas expands COVID-19 vaccination eligibility, racial disparities persist among Black, Hispanic residents
White Texans are being vaccinated at nearly twice the rate of Hispanic Texans and more than six times the rate of Black Texans, according to state data.
snip
Garcia acknowledged the state can “do better” to improve equity, but said local officials are responsible for the majority of vaccine distribution.
“At the end of the day, we can put vaccines in certain places, but it’s the locals that know their communities best,” Garcia told lawmakers during the hearing.
“All we can do is give the vaccine. Where they put it, where they choose to move it, who they choose to vaccinate … is on them.”
In January, advocates for communities of color worried they would have more trouble accessing vaccines than white Texans, given that the state’s distribution centers are more common in white, affluent neighborhoods.
A February University of Pittsburgh and West Health Policy Center study showed that Texas had one of the highest concentrations of counties in which
Black residents were more likely than white residents to have a driving distance of more than 10 miles to a vaccine hub. Other analyses showed similar geographic disparities across the state, because vaccine providers like hospitals and pharmacies tend to be located in predominantly white, wealthy areas.
In Dallas, where more than half of the first doses went to residents who lived in whiter and wealthier zip codes, city leaders in January tried to address inequities by prioritizing specific zip codes with vulnerable populations above others.
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/03/19/texas-vaccine-race-disparities/
Perhaps if it was available to them them more would be vaccinated.
= new reply since forum marked as read
