Racial divide seen in vax numbers
Stark racial disparities remain in coronavirus vaccinations in majority-minority communities hardest hit by the pandemic, even as Gov. Charlie Baker touts efforts to get shots into the arms of people of color.
“We continue to outperform most other states in our efforts to vaccinate our most vulnerable populations … our Black and brown residents,” Baker told lawmakers during an oversight hearing Tuesday.
But state data show a different story in largely minority municipalities that have disproportionately borne the brunt of the pandemic.
In Lawrence, where Latinos are 82% of the population, 3% of Latino residents have received at least one vaccine dose, compared to 55% of white residents who are 12% of the city’s population.
In Chelsea, where Latinos are 68% of the population, 9% of Latino residents have received vaccines, compared to 37% of white residents who are 20% of the city’s population, state data show.
In Randolph, which is 53% Black, 16% of Black residents have received at least one dose, compared to 40% of white residents who are 23% of the population.
Attorney General Maura Healey said recently that if addressing these disparities “means going door to door to get people shots, then we’ve got to do that as a state.”
The Baker administration is pouring $27.4 million into vaccine equity efforts in the 20 hardest-hit municipalities, including Chelsea, Lawrence, Randolph and Brockton.
Baker acknowledged Tuesday that so far vaccinations “are not as high for Latino residents” and said “I would be the first to agree that more work certainly needs to be done here — especially in communities of color — and that will continue to be a focus of ours.”
But hours before Baker testified from his office, state Sen. Rebecca Rausch, D-Needham, gathered with medical professionals and community activists outside the State House to “shame” the governor over his unequal vaccine distribution.
“Although the governor continues to put all the blame for the vaccine rollout on available doses, equity and delivery and accountability for his decisions have been in even shorter supply,” Rausch, who filed a bill that would install a vaccine equity czar, said.
Brockton City Councilor Moises Rodrigues said Baker “continues to fumble the ball” in equitable access, and said his 80-year-old mom “isn’t going to drive from Brockton to Foxboro to get vaccinated.”
In Brockton, where Black residents are 50% of the population, 12% have received at least one dose, compared to 26% of white residents who are 30% of the population.
“I want to see, of course, the numbers go up — get more people that reflect the city of Brockton,” Mayor Robert Sullivan said recently, describing “a marketing effort to educate and inform” residents.