11/14/2021

Biden Task Force Highlights Progress in Addressing COVID-19 Disparities

There were significant differences among racial and ethnic groups

In its final report, the Biden administration's COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force highlighted encouraging improvements over the past year in addressing inequities in the burden of COVID-19 on racial and ethnic groups, as well as disparities in vaccine access and immunization rates.

Overall, the gaps in cases, hospitalizations and deaths between Blacks and Hispanics compared to whites have closed, with nearly 90% drops in COVID-19 deaths among Black, brown and indigenous populations over the past year. Vaccination rates have also improved, with these underrepresented groups now getting vaccinated at rates that reflect their makeup in the U.S. population.

"Looking back to April, we were seeing around 10 points difference in terms of vaccination rates among racial and ethnic groups," said Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, chair of the Health Equity Task Force. "Now, we consistently see in national pools and from the CDC that for eligible adults in this country, the racial and ethnic gaps are gone for vaccination."

Please select this link to read the complete article from TIME.