Latinos and Blacks in Florida Are Being Left Behind in the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

By Joshua Summers First Posted: Mar 01, 2021 11:50 PM EST

In the rise of the new coronavirus variants, Latinos and Blacks are reportedly getting a smaller share of the COVID-19 vaccines in some areas of the country like Florida. Thus, government officials need to keep a close eye on the race of COVID-19 vaccines among their constituents.

NBC News reported that Latino and Black leaders raised alarms after Florida has started the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. But the first doses are mostly finding their way into the arms of mostly white senior citizens, making their communities left behind.

COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout in Florida

Some numbers serve as proof or support the allegations. A political science professor from the University of Central Florida, Aubrey Jewett, shared with Yahoo! News that Florida ranked near the bottom in the rate at which Black residents have been inoculated out of the 34 states that shared vaccine data by race and ethnicity.

Jewett also shared with NBC News that Latinos in Florida have also been vaccinated more slowly, noting that their population accounted for 27 percent and 24 percent of the COVID-19 related deaths. Jewett further noted that behind all the factors, only 16 percent of Latinos were inoculated.

On the other hand, NBC shared data from Kaiser Family Foundation suggesting that the Black community makes up 15 percent of the Florida population and 16 percent of COVID-19 related deaths. But only six percent of their community has been vaccinated so far.

Managing partner of APM Research, Craig Helmstetter, shared with The Guardian that COVID-19 has very disparate impacts, making about half of all states currently fail to provide vaccination data by race and ethnicity.

Helmstetter noted that in those states who are managing to provide data, Blacks and Latinos are getting far behind Asians, White, and Indigenous Americans. The Guardian reported that analysts warned that the available data is extremely patchy because of poor reporting by health departments.

Latinos, Blacks Need More COVID-19 Vaccines

Jewett told NBC News that the reason behind the disparity in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines among people of color and other races is because of the age differences in Florida's populace.

Jewett noted that the White community has a higher percentage of people with an age of 65 compared to Latinos and Blacks, whose population tilts on a younger bracket.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations prioritized healthcare workers and long-term nursing home residents, followed by front-line workers and people with ages ranging from 75 and older who do not live in retirement homes.

However, some people are not happy with what is happening like the co-chair of the New York COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force and former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, saying that Florida's numbers do not lie and the lack of understanding and attention to the communities that need the most attention are evident.

With the data involving Latinos and Blacks, the state of Florida had reported nearly two million cases of coronavirus along with 31,000 deaths. Reports added that nearly half of Florida's residents aging 65 and older had received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, but Latinos and Black are still underrepresented in that group.