vaccinedivide – Central News Hub

Racial disparities continue in US vax campaign

Only 22 per cent of African-Americans have received a shot, and the rates still trail those of Whites in almost every state…reports Asian Lite News

Months into the US’ Covid-19 inoculation campaign, African-Americans’ vaccination rates are still lagging behind, while Hispanics are closing the gap and Native Americans show the highest rates overall, latest federal data has revealed.

Only 22 per cent of African-Americans have received a shot, and the rates still trail those of Whites in almost every state, according to the data obtained and released on Thursday by Kaiser Health News from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The data revealed a sweeping national look at the race and ethnicity of vaccinated people on a state-by-state basis, reports Xinhua news agency.

Targeted efforts have raised vaccination rates among other minority groups.

People head to the entrance of a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the United Center in Chicago, the United States,

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Hispanics in eight states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are now vaccinated at higher rates than non-Hispanic Whites.

Yet 29 per cent of Hispanics are vaccinated nationally, compared with 33 per cent of Whites, according to the data.

While 45 per cent of Native Americans have received at least one dose, stark differences exist depending on where they live, and Asian vaccination rates are high in most states, with 41 per cent getting a shot.

“The analysis underscores how vaccine disparities have improved as availability has opened up and (Joe) Biden administration officials have attempted to prioritize equitable distribution.

“Still, gaps persist even as minority groups have suffered much higher mortality rates from the pandemic than Whites and are at risk of infection as states move to reopen and lift mask mandates,” CNN said in a report on Thursday citing the figures and rates.

Currently, some 47.9 per cent of Americans have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to official figures.

The government has set a goal to have 70 per cent of Americans get at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine before July 4.

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WHO chief condemns global vax divide

“There remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines,” said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus…reports Asian Lite News

The World Health Organization (WHO) has criticised what it describes as a “shocking imbalance” in the distribution of coronavirus vaccines between rich and poor countries.

“There remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference on Friday, the BBC reported.

The group’s chief said a target of seeing vaccination programmes under way in every country by Saturday would be missed.

The WHO has long called for fairer distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.

It is leading the Covax scheme which is designed to get jabs to poorer nations.

So far, more than 38 million doses have been delivered to around 100 countries under the scheme.

Zulema Riquelme, a 46-year-old nursing technician, receives a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Metropolitan Hospital in Santiago, Chile

Covax hopes to deliver more than two billion doses to people in 190 countries in less than a year. In particular, it wants to ensure that 92 poorer countries will receive access to vaccines at the same time as wealthier countries.

“On average in high-income countries, almost one in four people have received a Covid-19 vaccine. In low-income countries, it’s one in more than 500,” he said.

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The Covax scheme had been expected to distribute at least 100 million doses worldwide by the end of March, but only 38 million jabs have been delivered so far.

“We hope to be able to catch up during April and May,” Tedros said.

A medical worker prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Istanbul, Turkey

He also criticised countries that have sought their own vaccine deals outside of the Covax scheme. “Some countries and companies plan to do their own bilateral vaccine donations, bypassing Covax for their own political or commercial reasons,” Tedros said.

“These bilateral arrangements run the risk of fanning the flames of vaccine inequity,” he added. “Scarcity of supply is driving vaccine nationalism.”

Earlier this year, Tedros warned that the world was facing a “catastrophic moral failure” over vaccine inequality. He said a “me-first” approach would be self-defeating because it would encourage hoarding and prolong the pandemic.

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