As of Saturday, white residents of Pinellas County were three times more likely than Black residents to have received a COVID-19 vaccination (and almost four times more likely than Hispanics).
Community leaders say that without intervention by advocates and grassroots organizing partners, the disparity may persist in the crucial months ahead.
A report by the Florida Department of Health over the weekend, showed that by January 30th, about 75,272 Pinellas County residents had been vaccinated, and that eight out of 10 of them were white (among those who reported their race).
Black and Latino residents were underrepresented in the count. African Americans are 12% of Pinellas County’s population but only 4% of people so far vaccinated. Hispanics are 10% of the population but less than 3% of those vaccinated.
The extreme shortage of vaccine doses is one part of the challenge, but that doesn’t explain the gap across race groups.
So far, 7.3% of Pinellas County’s white population has been vaccinated, compared to only 2.5% of African Americans and 2.0% of Hispanics in the county.
Community groups are tag-teaming to help improve the numbers for people of color. On Thursday, February 4th, One Community and the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg will convene experts to answer top-of-mind questions such as:
- Why Pinellas is experiencing racial disparities in vaccination
- When vaccines will be available locally under President Biden’s 100-day/100 million doses campaign
- What community partners can do to improve results, especially for people of color
- Who to call for help to get elders and other family members vaccinated
The February 4th panel happens at 6 pm and will be moderated by Carl Lavender, Chief Equity Officer at the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg. Panelists include two practitioners on the frontline of vaccine distributions: Dr. Ulyee Choe, Director of the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County; and Dr. Nichelle Threadgill, Chief Medical Officer for Community Health Centers in Pinellas.
Watson Haynes of the Pinellas County Urban League and Dr. Shameka Jones of Florida Blue will lend perspective on advocacy and awareness raising as key to revving up vaccinations.
“The challenges will require that our healthcare system create alliances within black and brown communities,” says Lavender. “Trust and cultural competency will be key to overcoming vaccine hesitancy among groups most at risk.”
A national survey released in December 2020 showed that more African Americans distrust the vaccines and the distribution process. The survey, done by Kaiser Family Foundation, found that…
Over half of African Americans said they plan to “wait and see” how the vaccine goes with other people before getting it themselves (compared to 36% of whites who said the same thing).
In addition, 35% of African Americans say they either probably won’t or definitely won’t get the vaccine (compared to 26% of whites and Latino’s).
