Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Expanded for Hispanics

TEN PERCENT OF THE US POPULATION VACCINATED

El Comercio de Colorado Newsroom

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States reached the vaccination of 10 percent of its population. Some 33.7 million people have received at least one of the 44.7 million doses administered. About 10.4 million people have received both doses of the vaccine and, with the exception of Kansas, Missouri and Alabama, in the rest of the country the rate of vaccines administered exceeds 11,000 per 100,000 inhabitants.

According to the CDC, since the pandemic began, more than 27 million cases of covid-19 have been confirmed and 466,400 people have died from that disease in the United States, which has a population of about 330 million inhabitants. The president Biden has promised that his administration will ensure that 100 million people receive at least the first dose of the vaccine in the first 100 days of his administration, that is, on April 30.

But it will be difficult to fulfill that promise if the current pace is maintained. Since inoculations began in mid-December, the process has encountered difficulties both in the volume of vaccine production, as well as in its distribution and public access to the same. According to the latest data, there is still a large difference between the doses distributed (65.9 million) and those administered to the population (44.7).

Racial disparity

Another disparity that occurs is racial. The CDC indicates that in the first month of vaccination, from December 14, 2020 to January 14, 11.5 percent of those who had received at least one dose were Latino and 60.4 percent were white. The disparity occurs because Hispanics represent 18 percent of the nation’s population. Meanwhile, the death rate from covid-19 is 2.8 times higher among Latinos than among whites in the United States

To correct the disparity, the CDC has entered into an agreement with the National Alliance for Hispanic Health. “The purpose of the agreement is to develop a vaccine network with a presence in 18 cities. We will work with community organizations and leaders in cities and rural areas to ensure the promise that the vaccine benefits everyone,” said Jane Delgado, president of the alliance.

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