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    • Feb 23, 2021
    • 3 min read

How are minority communities impacted by COVID?

By: Diane Sun


Covid has been disproportionately harming minority communities, who have suffered far more economic and physical impacts throughout the duration of the pandemic. This stems from a variety of causes, but it's largely due to existing health disparities. Health disparities have long existed in the US healthcare system, but COVID-19 is showcasing the gravity of these barriers to an unseen extent. For example, while white people have an uninsured rate of 6%, Hispanic people had an uninsured rate of 18% and Black people had an uninsured rate of 10%.


Medical racism, environmental injustice, food deserts, and occupying a disproportionate share of front-line service jobs all contribute to the vulnerability of minority communities to COVID-19. Environmental racism, in particular, often leads to pre-existing health conditions that can intensify the severity of COVID. A study in California found that African-Americans and Latino people were exposed to particulate air pollution at 43% (African-American) and 39% (Latino) higher rates than white Californians.


All of these factors contribute to the vulnerability of minority communities and why Black Americans are 2.8x more likely to die from COVID and 3.7x more likely to be hospitalized for COVID compared to non-Hispanic white people. Hispanic or Latino people are 2.8x more likely to die and 4.1x more likely to be hospitalized. Indigenous people are 2.6x more likely to die and 4.0x more likely to be hospitalized.




How has vaccine distribution been unequal?



Despite the pressing need of minority communities for relief, the COVID response to their cries for help has been lackluster. As vaccine rollout begins in many communities, people of color are being neglected.


In Miami-Dade County, despite African-Americans making up 17% of the population, they have received only 6% of vaccinations. In Harris County, Houston, despite Hispanic residents making up 44% of the population, they’ve received only 19% of the vaccines. In Chicago, Hispanic and Black residents combined have received 38% of vaccine doses, while white residents have received almost half, despite Chicago being 29% Hispanic, 30% Black, and 33% White. In Virginia, Black people make up 19% of the population, 24% of the state’s COVID-19 deaths, yet only 12% of administered vaccines. This is a nationwide trend, with minorities being vastly overrepresented in COVID hospitalizations and deaths, yet underrepresented in vaccinations.



Why is it unequal?


There are several reasons that the vaccine rollout has been so inequitable.


First, vaccine provider disparities.


Vaccine providers are often in whiter, wealthier areas, with especially few in rural areas, making it incredibly difficult to access for minorities. In Harris County, despite Hispanic people disproportionately being infected with COVID, vaccine sites are predominantly in white neighborhoods.





Second, technological and transportation barriers.


Even when appointments are made available to minority residents, white, wealthier people take an outsized portion of the appointments, even if they don’t live in that area. Health officials from many cities have noted that people from white, wealthy neighborhoods have been flooding appointments. In Washington DC, residents of its whitest, wealthiest ward took 40% of the available vaccine appointments in the city, despite comprising only 5% of COVID cases.


Several barriers exist between minorities and access to appointments, including the hours that it takes to get an appointment. Black and Hispanic people are less likely to have a job that would situate them in front of a computer all day or allow them to stay on-call for hours, giving them the chance to get an appointment. Furthermore, they are less likely to be able to get transportation to the vaccine site (which is often not located in their neighborhoods) or get time off to travel there.


Third, lack of trust in the vaccine.


Due to centuries of medical racism and abuse, such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, minority communities are understandably distrustful towards the government. As a result, they are more likely to wait or hesitate to get the vaccine.


A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 43% of Black respondents and 37% of Hispanic respondents intended on “waiting and seeing how it’s working”, compared to 26% of white respondents.


Fourth, a data deficit.


Only 23 states report race data when it comes to vaccine distribution, making it incredibly difficult to measure the true scope of racism and its effects on COVID-19 response. While the CDC has sex and age information for 97% of all patients, they only have race and ethnicity data for 51.9% of patients.


This data deficit makes it impossible for policymakers to respond to a problem they don’t fully understand.


People of color long have been the victims of America’s healthcare system. It’s time to give them the relief they deserve.


Discussion Questions:

  • How can policymakers mitigate vaccine inequity?

  • How severe is vaccine inequality on the international level?

  • Will health disparities be exacerbated or lessened post-pandemic?



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