The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Data: Racial gap in vaccination rate narrows for oldest adults
Connecticut’s latest data shows there’s still a racial divide in the state’s COVID vaccination rate, but the gap is closing among older adults.
Eligible white Connecticut residents of any age are still more than twice as likely to have received a first shot compared with Hispanic residents, according to the latest state data.
Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday the state has budgeted $58 million in federal funding to increase vaccination rates among communities with low uptake.
“That starts with telephoning and door-to-door canvassing and trusted advocates,” Lamont said.
Kathleen Silard, president and CEO of Stamford Health, said the hospital is operating special clinics for vulnerable populations.
“They come in and they get the vaccine and there are no questions asked,” Silard said. “We do ask for identification, if they don’t have it, we still provide the vaccine, and we want to make sure that we’re getting the penetration to that community.”
About 743,000 white residents — 37 percent of the state’s roughly 2 million in this group who are 16 and older — have received a first shot of the vaccine, the data shows.
Of the 437,000 Hispanic residents who are 16 and older, 16.7 percent — 73,000 people — have received at least the first dose, the data shows.
Less than 20 percent — about 59,000 — of the 300,000 Black residents in this age group have received at least the first dose, according to the data.
A little more than 20 percent of the state’s Asian or Pacific Islander population have received a first dose, and less than 28 percent of the state’s Native American or Alaskan
population have received their first shot.
Of those who identify as more than one race, a group that comprises about 38,000 people, about 11 percent have received at least a first dose, the data shows.
A total of 76,792 people whose race is listed as “other” have received a first dose, along with 73,410 people whose race is “unknown.”
The data also shows the racial gap in vaccinations may be starting to slowly close.
Although the percentage of white residents over 16 who received a first shot increased 4.7 percent this week compared with 3.2 percent for Black and Hispanic residents, data showed gains in older communities of color.
For those 65 and older, the percentage of Hispanic and Black residents who received a first shot exceeded the rate for white residents in this group.
“First of all, it’s important to point out that 50 states are struggling with this challenge, and Connecticut is among them,” said Josh Geballe, the state’s chief operating officer.
He said the state Department of Public Health is tracking who gets vaccinated through pharmacies, which receive their doses directly from the federal government, rather than the state allocation. The governor’s office has previously released data showing the pharmacies are lagging behind other providers in getting shots into the arms of the state’s most vulnerable communities.
“We’re glad that they located many of the pharmacies that they opened in those high SVI ZIP codes,” he said, referring to a designation the federal government uses to track vulnerable communities. “But we need to do more to make sure that people who actually live in those ZIP codes are getting vaccinated in those pharmacies.”
State Rep. Gerry Reyes, D-Waterbury, chairman of the legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, said Waterbury will soon send vans out to vaccinate people remotely. What’s holding the city back is the supply of vaccine, Reyes said.
“Being able to convince somebody ... in their native tongue, or being able to bring his or her neighbor with them goes a long way when you’re actually trying to explain to people why the vaccines are so important,” he said.
The governor announced Thursday the state will accelerate its plan to open eligibility on April 1 to anyone 16 and older. The state originally planned to open vaccines up to everyone on April 5.
The revised timeline puts Connecticut one month ahead of the May 1 deadline when President Joe Biden asked for all states and territories to make the vaccine available to everyone.
On Friday, Connecticut recorded 1,699 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the daily positivity rate to 2.85 percent out of 59,630 new tests. There were 22 more hospitalizations, bringing the state’s total to 456.
Another three fatalities brought the state’s official death toll from the virus to 7,865.