Black and Latino residents are receiving far fewer doses of COVID-19 vaccines than white residents in California, according to new data released by state officials Friday, reflecting a trend of racial disparity that has come to define the coronavirus pandemic.
Though officials have previously warned that the demographic data was incomplete, the new information from the California Department of Public Health reveals for the first time that white Californians appear to be securing vaccines more quickly than residents of color.
Of the more than 211,000 people who have received at least one dose in Sacramento County and whose race was recorded, about 36% were white, 12% were Asian, 12% were multiracial, 8% were Latino and 4% were Black. About twice as many white residents received a shot in Sacramento County as any other racial group.
Latino and Black residents were significantly underrepresented: The county's population is roughly 24% Latino and 9% Black. White and Asian residents have also received fewer doses proportionate to their population size.
The demographic data is imperfect. The race of more than 19,000 people who received at least one dose of the vaccine in Sacramento County was not known — about 9% of all shots.
In addition, about 17% of doses were given to those whose race is listed as "Other," which the state said includes those who fall outside listed race and ethnicity: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian American, Black, Latino, multi-race, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and white.
"That's a huge chunk that we don't know that could skew this data any which way, so it's hard to draw conclusions," said Kiran Savage-Sangwan, executive director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network.
"But the conclusions we can draw is we have really low numbers particularly for the Latino and Black population. I think it's reasonable to say those numbers are lower than they should be, even with the data gap," she continued.
The new revelations come against the backdrop of the pandemic's uneven and devestating toll: Latino, Black and Pacific Islander residents have been disproportionately killed by the virus in California. In Sacramento, neighborhoods severed from economic, health and social resources and opportunity have seen massive COVID-19 hotspots.
The Sacrament County data mirrors statewide trends. About a third of all vaccines in California have gone to white residents. Across all California recipients, 16% were Latino, 14% were multi-racial, 13% were Asian American, 3% were Black, and less than 1% were American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. About 21% were categorized as other or unknown.
The data appears to suggest that white people in California are being vaccinated at a significantly higher rates than people of color — at least double the rate of Black and Latino residents.
About 14% of white people in California have received at least one dose of the vaccine. That's compared to 6% of Latino residents, 7% of Black residents and 13% of Asian residents in California.
"I think it's not surprising, but it's concerning, that you have twice as many people identifying as white rather than Latino getting the vaccine," said Anthony Wright, director of Health Access and a member of the state's vaccine advisory committee.
The large percentage of individuals classified as "other" is puzzling for some health officials, since "multi-race" is also a tracked category. Savage-Sangwan said some people may be hesitant to report their race, or are not being asked by health providers. It could explain in part why so few vaccines appear to have gone to Californians of color thus far.
"Even with the data gaps, I think it's clear that California is following the national trend of under vaccinating our Black and Latino communities," Savage-Sangwan said. "We really need to focus our efforts as we continue to ramp up, building up trust and overcoming barriers to access in getting those vaccines."
Additional vaccine data — like race data by age groups, disaggregated data about specific ethnicities, and ZIP-code-specific data — could all help shed more light on who's receiving the vaccine, Savage-Sangwan said.
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION AND PRIORITIZATION
Public health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye told The Bee last week that people of color were likely trailing white residents in receiving the vaccine, in large part because distribution locally has been focused on healthcare workers, longterm care residents, emergency responders and people 65 and older.
"This is true not just for Sacramento, but you'll see it across all of California," Kasirye previously told The Bee. "As we move further, especially 65-plus and doing (distribution) by age, we will be able to have more clinics for the general public and have more clinics targeting disadvantaged communities in a way that we'll be able to reduce the disparity."
Wright agreed, saying that as more age groups and essential workers become eligible, "that should provide some leveling effect."
"The logistical rollout — the logistical last mile — of getting vaccines out is where equity lives," Wright said. "It's important to monitor this, but I'd also say that whatever the stats are now, what are we doing to improve it going forward?"
State officials have worked to center equity as a kind of North Star for California's vaccine rollout, as it's shipped millions of doses to public health departments and healthcare systems.
But health advocates have repeatedly raised alarm at how a complicated web of prioritization, shortages of doses, inscrutable points of access, technological barriers, and lingering mistrust have so far severely hampered getting vaccines out to some of the state's most vulnerable residents.
State officials have asked counties to pay close attention to high-risk neighborhoods based on the Healthy Places Index — mostly low-income neighborhoods and communities of color.
But specific guidance and target goals have been virtually nonexistent for how county officials, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and other healthcare providers should distribute COVID-19 vaccines to these areas hit hardest by the virus, making it difficult to hold departments and institutions accountable.
Change could be on the way. In a move to increase and speed up the state's vaccine rollout, California inked a new deal with insurance company Blue Shield to centralize the distribution of doses. As part of the contract, Blue Shield will create an incentive payment plan that will give healthcare providers more funds for hitting equity goals, like distributing vaccines to communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, or to those who are difficult to reach for medical treatment.
California is also set to get a big boost in vaccines next week. And local hospital systems and the county health department have been slowly ramping up pop-up vaccine clinics in underserved neighborhoods in recent weeks, though information about appointments remains elusive to most, and demand for doses still far outstrips supply.
