Racial Disparities In Booster Rates Persist – Low Vaccine Booster Rates Are Now A Key Factor In COVID-19 Deaths
More than 450 people are dying of COVID-19 in the U.S. each day as of late August 2022.
When COVID-19 vaccines first became available, public officials, community organizations and policymakers mobilized to get shots into arms. These efforts included significant investments in making vaccines accessible to Black, Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native populations. These groups experienced exceptionally high COVID-19 death rates early in the pandemic and had low initial vaccine rates.
The efforts worked. As of August 2022, vaccination rates for the primary series – or required initial doses of COVID-19 vaccines – for Black and Hispanic people exceeded those of white Americans.
But boosters are a different story. Comparable booster vaccine promotion efforts have been lacking. Confusi...