Young People of Color Lag in Getting COVID Boosters
March 8, 2022
Young people of color are not getting booster shots against COVID at the same rate as young white people. USA Today reported.
This worries the federal health authorities. To close the gap, the Biden administration plans to seek help from churches and community health centers. USA Today said. “We need to do better, and we all understand that by using booster stocks,” he said. Anthony Fauci, MD, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden. “Equity remains an important part of any of our plans.” US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention He speaks. The plan to vaccinate more young people of color with booster doses is part of the latest White House strategy for the pandemic, which Biden discussed in his March 2 address to Congress. Only 30.4% of blacks and 37.7% of Hispanics aged 18-49 are fully vaccinated and revaccinated, compared to 49.5% of whites in that age group. Among people aged 65 and over, the gaps between demographic groups are much smaller.
Cameron Webb,
The Senior Policy Adviser for Equity on the White House COVID-19 Response Team, said young people of color are hesitant to get boosters due to complacency, lack of convenience, and concerns about effectiveness and safety. USA Today said.
“I think for young people who have seen so much COVID among their peers and in their community, this perception of the risk of hospitalization and death at a younger age does not rise to the same level,” Webb said. Webb noted that many young people had recently become infected during the Omicron surge.” They ask this question, ‘Well, if I just got infected, do I need a booster?'” Webb said. “And as Dr. Fauci will tell you, as I will tell you, the answer is yes. The White House plans to seek help from health care providers of color, community groups, and religious groups. USA Today said. These groups have been used throughout the pandemic to promote vaccines to minorities.
But black communities still don’t trust the federal government on many levels, including vaccines, said Melissa Clark, MD. Clark is the CEO of BHE Group, a health literacy organization, and a former Associate Dean of the Howard University College of Medicine. “It’s still hard for many black people to accept that something good can come from the government that isn’t meant to hurt them,” she said. USA Today.
