蜜柚直播

The 蜜柚直播 Department of Health Services didn鈥檛 expect the racial and ethnic makeup of vaccinated people to align with the makeup of the general population 鈥渄ue to the phased approach of vaccine distribution,鈥� according to a disclaimer on the department鈥檚 online chart of COVID-19 vaccine administration.

Health experts point out that the older population, which is populated by more whites, was given vaccine priority because age is such a big risk factor for severe COVID-19 illness. So it鈥檚 not surprising that the overall makeup of vaccinated people skews whiter.

On Friday, however, the 蜜柚直播鈥檚 top health official, Dr. Cara Christ, walked back the health department鈥檚 disclaimer that vaccine distribution in the state isn鈥檛 expected to align with the racial and ethnic makeup of the state鈥檚 general population.

鈥淭hat probably should come down off of our website. I鈥檒l talk to the team,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow that we are vaccinating the general population and we鈥檝e had multiple weeks where everybody has been eligible, that disclaimer probably should come off of our website.鈥�

On March 24, 蜜柚直播 opened vaccine eligibility to everyone 16 and older.

While this opened up vaccines to more people of color, the state鈥檚 cumulative vaccine distribution has remained misaligned with the makeup of the state鈥檚 general population.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that I have an anticipated timeline, if ever, that it will exactly match the demographics of this state,鈥� Christ said.

The data do have some caveats, she said. For example, not all federal and Indian Health Service facilities are reporting vaccine data to the state health department.

Christ said the percent of vaccinated people who are Native American may never fully match the percentage of Native Americans in the general population.

The Native American population is disproportionately represented among COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in 蜜柚直播, according to the , which flagged these data for likely representing a racial disparity.

Native Americans are also under-represented in the vaccinated population, according to the state鈥檚 data. But the percentage of Native Americans who have been vaccinated is higher than the percentage of Backs and Latinos who have been vaccinated in 蜜柚直播.

Christ gave other explanations for the misalignment too.

鈥淲e know that we鈥檝e got vaccine hesitant populations. So while we鈥檙e working with the leaders of those communities to really increase messaging and increase the communication and the encouraging of getting the vaccine, I don鈥檛 know that they ever will meet the state demographics for those,鈥� Christ said, adding that the state will continue to help increase access to vaccines in underserved areas.

In 蜜柚直播, nearly 37% of whites, 25% of Native Americans, 22% of Blacks and 17% of Latinos have been vaccinated with at least one dose of vaccine, according to population estimates from the 2019 five-year American Community Survey and the state鈥檚 vaccine data.

Health experts also look for racial disparities by comparing the makeup of vaccinated people with the makeup of the general population.

Latinos or Hispanics represented about 13% of all vaccinated people in 蜜柚直播, but they make up 31% of the general population.

Blacks represented 2% of vaccinated people, but they are about 4% of the general population.

Native Americans represented about 2% of vaccinated people in the state, but they also make up about 4% of the general population.

And whites represented 48% of vaccinated people, but they are about 55% of the general population.

The state didn鈥檛 have race and ethnicity data on 398,231 vaccinated people, or 13.6% of those vaccinated, as of Friday.

The way the health department categorizes other groups by race and ethnicity doesn鈥檛 align with how the U.S. Census Bureau categorizes the general population by race and ethnicity.

The misalignment is not caused by race alone, said Dr. Joe Gerald, an associate professor with the University of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 College of Public Health. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not race, per se, but rather the conditions and structural inequities that these groups face. Some of it may be, they may be more likely to live in an area where there鈥檚 a healthcare provider shortage. That kind of thing. So, it may be unrealistic to expect them to ever catch up fully.鈥�

Gerald pointed out that this trend is also evident in colorectal cancer screenings too, which is a prevention measure, much like a vaccine is. It鈥檚 something that people who are sick can get to stay healthy.

Every year since 2000, white people 50 to 75 years old got this screening at a higher rate than any other racial or ethnic group.

The same type of barriers that would prevent a person of color from getting this type of cancer screening would also prevent that person from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, he said, adding that it鈥檚 not a perfect comparison, but a reasonable one.

鈥淭here鈥檚 this correlation between race and income, education, occupation and living conditions, such that Hispanics, for example, may always face more barriers to vaccination than whites. And they may never catch up and may never be vaccinated at the same proportion as they are in the population,鈥� Gerald said.

It was logical to prioritize older people for the COVID-19 vaccine due to the strong correlation between age and severity of disease, Gerald said.

Health experts widely agree that this strategy led to disproportionately vaccinating white people at a higher rate because the older population is whiter.

鈥淥ne might say, 鈥榳ell that鈥檚 not racism, that鈥檚 fair,鈥欌�� Gerald said.

While public policy didn鈥檛 overtly exclude people of color from getting vaccinated, structural racism did put them at a disadvantage, he said.

鈥淲here the structural racism comes into play with a strategy that鈥檚 fully age based is that minorities, on average, don鈥檛 have an equal opportunity to live to the same age,鈥� he said, adding at the types of barriers that people of color face have an impact on life expectancy.

鈥淎nd so they鈥檙e going to be disproportionately shut out,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o yes, the prioritization schema did disadvantage minority groups.鈥�