New Analysis: Updated State Data Continues To Show Wide Disparities in COVID-19 Vaccination Rates by Race/Ethnicity

KFF has an updated analysis of the state-reported data dated February 16, 2021 on COVID-19 vaccinations, cases and deaths by race / ethnicity.

New to the analysis are comparisons of vaccination rates in each race / ethnic group based on government-reported data from people who received at least one dose of vaccine. Among just over half of the states reporting data, the vaccination rate among whites is more than three times higher than that of Hispanic Americans (10% vs. 3%) and twice as high as that of blacks (10% vs. 5%). The vaccination rate for Asians is closer to the rate for whites in most reporting states, although most reporting states are less likely to have been vaccinated.

Across the 34 states reporting data on vaccination by race / ethnicity, there is a broadly consistent pattern of black and Hispanic individuals who are lower proportions compared to their proportions of cases and deaths and compared to their proportions in the total population received vaccinations.

For example, in Texas, 20 percent of vaccinations went to Hispanics, while Hispanics account for 42 percent of COVID-19 cases, 47 percent of deaths from the virus, and 40 percent of the state's total population. In Mississippi, blacks have received 22 percent of vaccinations, but make up 38 percent of COVID-19 cases, 40 percent of deaths, and 38 percent of the state's total population.

The percentage of vaccinations among Asians was similar to the percentage of the total population in most states, and if there were differences in most cases, the differences were small. White people received higher proportions of vaccinations than their proportion of cases and deaths and their proportion of the total population in most states where data were reported.

Vaccination patterns may change as more data become available and more parts of the country have better access to vaccines. Eighteen states and Washington DC do not yet report vaccinations by race / ethnicity, and some states have high levels of vaccination dates with unknown race / ethnicity and / or reporting "other or multiple races".