JEFFERSON CITY, MO (KMOX) - As the rollout of COVID vaccines continues for the highest risk groups and frontline health workers, a new report has found that far fewer black Americans are getting the shot.
The Kaiser Family Foundation reports the percentage of those vaccinated who are black is lower than their share of both the general population and the health care workforce in 16 states reporting vaccine rates by race.
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Based on Missouri figures, 11% of residents are black and represent 17% of the state's health care workforce. However, of the population that has received the COVID vaccine is only 5% are black. The disparity is even greater in other states including Mississippi, Maryland and North Carolina.
The Kaiser report suggests suspicion of the medical field could be a factor. Access and communication is reportedly another. In one example provided by Kaiser, the predominately black janitorial staff of a hospital were not part of the facility's email system where information about vaccine availability was sent to employees.
Meanwhile, a CDC analysis shows Black, Hispanic and Native Americans are dying from COVID at nearly three times the rate of white Americans.
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