The Demographics Of The U.S. Vaccination Campaign

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released its first analysis of how vaccines are distributed among different demoggaphic groups. The research focused on people who received at least one shot between December 14 and January 14, some 12.9 million individuals in total. The CDC states that its analysis is limited, taking into account 64 jurisdictions and five federal entities reporting demographic data. Nearly all reported gender and age data but race/ethnicity informaton was only released for 51.9 percent of those vaccinated. Acknowledging this, the CDC states that "more complete reporting of race and ethnicity data at the provider and jurisdictional levels is critical to ensure rapid detection of and response to potential disparities in COVID-19 vaccinations".

The low rate of vaccination among Black Americans stands out in the analysis with the group accounting for just 5.4 percent of all jabs despite making up nearly 13 percent of the U.S. population. By comparison white 60.4 percent of vaccines went to whites, 11.5 percent went to Hispanics/Latinos and 6 percent went to Asians. The figures are worrying given that previous CDC data shows that Black Americans are 3.7 times as likely to be hospitalized as white Americans and 2.8 times more likely to die from the disease. Vaccine hesitancy among the Black population has been cited as the primary reason for the disparity in inoculation, primarily as a result of perceived racial injustices that led to lower levels of trust in the government.

The vast majority of Americans vaccinated so far are women with 63 percent of total shots from mid-December to mid-January going to females. That is generally reflective of the demographic characteristics of residents and staff at long-term care facilities, along with employees in health care. 15.6 percent of vaccines have gone to over 75s so far with 13.4 percent distributed among people aged between 65 and 70. The 50-64 age bracket had the most significant share of vaccinations at just under 26 percent.