KFF has up to date its nationwide evaluation of race/ethnicity information of COVID-19 circumstances and deaths, vaccinations, and coverings as issues develop over a possible enhance in COVID-19 circumstances throughout winter and upcoming vacation gatherings and the low take-up of the COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccine among the many eligible public.
Regardless of earlier progress narrowing disparities in COVID-19 vaccination, new disparities have emerged in take-up of boosters and remedy.
Federal information from earlier this month signifies that, among the many eligible inhabitants, 10% of White individuals had obtained a COVID-19 bivalent booster dose, twice the speed of eligible Black (5%) and Hispanic (4%) individuals and almost twice as excessive as for Native Hawaiian or Different Pacific Islander individuals (6%). Eleven % of Asian individuals and eight% of American Indian and Alaskan Native individuals had obtained a bivalent booster dose.
The bivalent booster information stands in distinction to the vaccination charges amongst racial and ethnic teams for not less than one dose of the first COVID-19 vaccine. The speed for a major COVID-19 vaccine dose amongst White individuals stood at 56% earlier this month. The first vaccine dose fee amongst Black individuals lagged at 50%, whereas different racial and ethnic teams had surpassed the charges amongst White individuals. Uptake of not less than one dose of the first COVID-19 vaccine started leveling off throughout all racial/ethnic teams in late winter 2021.
Racial and ethnic gaps are additionally discovered within the information on the remedy of COVID-19. As of mid-2022, amongst COVID-19 sufferers aged 20 and older, individuals of shade have been much less prone to have been handled with the antiviral remedy Paxlovid. Whereas the disparities have been discovered throughout all age teams, the Paxlovid remedy hole was extra evident amongst adults aged 50 or older and those that are immunocompromised (teams extra in danger for critical well being outcomes).
For the complete evaluation together with a take a look at the tendencies in racial disparities in circumstances and deaths which have widened and narrowed over the course of the pandemic learn, COVID-19 Circumstances and Deaths, Vaccinations, and Therapies by Race/Ethnicity as of Fall 2022.