COVID-19 Vaccination Rate is Higher in Whiter States
As of January 8, data from the New York Times on the percent of people who have been vaccinated for COVID-19 in each state shows that states where a larger share of the population is white have a higher vaccination rate. For example, the figure shows that the states with the highest vaccination rates on January 8 were West Virginia, South Dakota, and North Dakota. These are among the states with the largest shares of the population that is non-Hispanic white. Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire, the first, second, and fourth whitest states respectively, were also among the top ten states with the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates.
The states with the largest shares of the population that is African American were more likely to be among the states with the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate. Only the District of Columbia has a larger share of the population that is black than Mississippi. Georgia and Alabama have the fourth and sixth largest shares of the state population that is black respectively. These are the states with the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates.
These correlations between the percent of the state population that is white and that is black with the percent of the population vaccinated is statistically significant according to my analysis. The vaccination rate data changes daily so the ranking and relationships will likely change over time. This racial correlation, one hopes, will disappear.
It is not clear why there would be this variation by the racial makeup of the state in the COVID-19 vaccination progress. The New York Times reports that as of January 8 while 69 percent of the allocated vaccine doses were used in West Virginia only 17 percent were used in Georgia. We should avoid overly simplified assumptions of racial discrimination. If one wanted to discriminate against black people in Georgia, it would make more sense to distribute the vaccine doses, but just to focus on the white population in the state. Vaccine hesitancy is also not likely to be an explanation. There is a high rate of vaccine hesitancy among Republicans. The high vaccination states in the figure are strong Republican states.
While an overly simplified story of racial discrimination does not explain the racial pattern, if the states with larger percentages of their population that are black are slow to receive the vaccine, it will be harmful to the black population. The longer the black population is unvaccinated, the longer they will be at risk for illness and possibly death.
Public health officials need to explain the racial disparity in the vaccine rollout by state population. They also should track vaccination rates by race to make certain that there is equitable distribution. COVID-19 is disproportionately costing black lives. Effective vaccination has the potential to save them.
