Equity gaps in vaccine distribution not as wide as first interpreted after further review
On Thursday, state Department of Health officials sought to clarify earlier interpretations of race and equity data regarding COVID-19 vaccines first released last week by the state.
Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah said numbers were not as widely disproportionate as it first appeared when taking into account what proportion each race represents in the 65 and older population.
“When we compare data for people over the age of 65 who have been vaccinated to the state’s population of people over the age of 65, some race and ethnicity groups are still underrepresented, but the gaps are markedly smaller than our initial comparison showed,” he said at a news briefing.
“When we look specifically at the population over the age of 65, in our state 3.6 percent are Hispanic; 2.5 percent of people over 65 had at least one dose of vaccine were Hispanic.”
The overall Hispanic population in the state, he noted, is 13.2 percent.
Shah said, “About 2.1 percent of the population that is over the age of 65 is Black. And 1.2 percent of the people over the age of 65, who had at least one dose of vaccine, were Black,“ he said.
That compares to the overall population for Blacks in the state of about 4 percent.
He added, “While we still have a tremendous amount of work to do in the equity perspective, when we look at the data with this additional context, we are closer than initially it may appear that we are.”
In comments last week, Shah alluded to the fact that the state’s vaccine demographic data should be taken with a nuanced perspective, given that those eligible in the first phase, including health care workers, long term care residents, emergency workers and those 65 and over, is not as diverse demographically as a group as the general population.
On Thursday, he noted the challenges in analyzing the data from the state’s perspective.
“While the report provides an overall snapshot ... analyzing these data — it has been challenging and nuanced,” he said. “The groups of people currently eligible do not necessarily have the same racial and ethnic makeup as the state’s general population. We also do not have good data on the exact race and ethnicity proportions for each priority group. For that reason the report used comparisons to the general state population. But I think that may have added some additional confusion into the mix.”
Similar warnings were issued from DOH about the data after its release last week.
Shah said the new analysis should not alter or slow the state’s efforts to reach all population segments, nor did the new perspective illustrate a raving success story.
“We know BIPOC communities are more likely to struggle to get good health care and more likely to live in conditions that aren’t good for their health,” he said. “We also know that dealing with factors such as racism in and of itself is a stressor that is bad for health and life expectancy.
“The sad fact is, because of these problems, our state’s population over the age of 65, is not as diverse as we would like to have when we look at our entire population.”
Shah also noted that as of Jan. 3, just 29 percent of vaccine doses received by the state were being administered. The rate is now close to 83 percent.
“We’re working to integrate a pro-equity approach into vaccine allocation and distribution and to prioritize allocation and support to providers who effectively serve disproportionately impacted communities,” he said.
In Pierce County, officials have highlighted their work in outreach to communities who have faced everything from language barriers and difficulties in accessing vaccination sites to booking appointments for lack of online access.
Stephanie Dunkel, assistant director for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s Communicable Disease Division, spoke to the Board of Health at its study session Wednesday about its vaccine distribution among different race demographics.
“Our Black, Hispanic and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander, we are reaching about half of our estimated population in Pierce County,” Dunkel said. “These are three areas that we are talking about with our community engagement team or equity team or racism and resilience team around strategies and areas to support vaccine access and administration.”
She added, “For Asian and American Indian-Alaskan Native, we are right on match with the population estimates in Pierce County,” with distribution.
On Thursday, in response to questions, TPCHD told The News Tribune in an emailed statement: “Our data comes directly from DOH and reflects all vaccination events that have been reported to the state.”
