MDH Unveils Race, Ethnicity Data of COVID-19 Vaccine Recipients

Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash

(KNSI) – On Friday, the Minnesota Department of Health published COVID-19 vaccination data that details vaccine recipients’ race and ethnicity.

The data show that white Minnesotans are disproportionately more likely to have been vaccinated than people of color. MDH estimates that 18.7 percent of white Minnesotans have gotten vaccinated compared to the 17.5 percent vaccination rate for the state’s general population. All other racial and ethnic groups’ vaccination percentage is below the statewide average.

MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm says the inequities in the state’s vaccine distribution so far are not surprising, given which populations were first prioritized for the vaccine.

“Health care workers and elders, initially those residing in long-term care and then 65 and older … we know that all of those populations are disproportionately white,” Malcolm said.

Malcolm says this newly published data can help address those inequities as the vaccination effort continues.

“I think it has to do with allocations of specific geographies and to specific providers who are serving populations what are showing these gaps in access,” Malcolm said. “It also will inform our strategies to work with community-based organizations to make sure that we are both getting the vaccine to the right communities and the right channels for accessibility, but also to be working to educate and encourage and support people … to get the vaccine when it is available.”

Next week, the state will receive 127,169 combined Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, which will be distributed along with the 45,200 Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccines delivered to Minnesota a few days ago.

Percent of the population vaccinated by race and ethnicity as of February 27, 2020: