Bush, Barragán Lead Colleagues in Asking Biden to Ensure Underserved Communities are Not Left Behind in Vaccine Distribution
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Cori Bush (Mo. 1) and Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán (Calif. 44) led 10 of their colleagues in encouraging President Joe Biden to ensure underserved communities and communities of color are no longer left behind during the vaccine distribution process. The Members asked President Biden and his administration to outline the concrete steps they will take to ensure communities like St. Louis, which have been disproportionately devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, receive increased doses of the vaccine.
“Black and brown communities in St. Louis have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Congresswoman Cori Bush. “We cannot afford to have a vaccine distribution strategy that exacerbates these disparities. It’s critical that President Biden not only prioritizes Black and brown communities in the vaccine distribution process but that his administration builds trust within our communities to correct for our country’s history of medical apartheid. We’re calling on President Biden to outline his plan for equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution so that St. Louis can be better prepared to get this vaccine quickly to the residents of our community who need it most.”
In their letter, the Members of Congress wrote: “We write to you deeply concerned about the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to underserved communities and communities of color. … Unfortunately, time is of the essence, and recent reports regarding the disproportionate access to vaccines by underserved communities demands our immediate attention. … We believe that the administration should be looking for creative approaches to solve these problems and get the vaccine to those most in need.”
The letter was also signed by Representatives Terri A. Sewell (Ala.), Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Grace F. Napolitano (Calif.), Dwight Evans (Pa.), Raúl M. Grijalva (Ariz.), and Kathy Castor (Fla.).
A PDF of the letter can be found here and full text of the letter is below:
Dear President Biden and Acting Secretary Cochran,
We write to you deeply concerned about the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to underserved communities and communities of color. While the COVID-19 crisis affects every American, it is the latest disease to infect and kill Black and Latino Americans at higher rates than people in the rest of the population. We have seen firsthand what this crisis is doing to our communities, especially those that are low-income and do not have access to the services they need to stay healthy and pay the bills.
We know that the Trump administration mishandled the initial rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, and that you were presented with very little data to provide for a seamless transition. For example, it is appalling that you were not informed on how many doses of the vaccine the federal government has in its possession.
Unfortunately, time is of the essence, and recent reports regarding the disproportionate access to vaccines by underserved communities demands our immediate attention. Currently, 4 percent of the White population has received a COVID-19 vaccine, as compared to only 1.9 percent of the Black population and 1.8 percent of the Latino population. As was stated by Former CDC Acting Director Dr. Richard Besser during a recent television interview, our focus needs to be ensuring that the right people are being vaccinated. Considering the fact that communities of color are at the greatest risk of exposure and have hospitalization and death rates that far surpass their proportion of the population, we need to focus on getting the people in these communities vaccinated.
Equally concerning is that the rate of vaccinations is disproportionately lower for healthcare workers among communities of color. This is not only due to an issue with distribution of the vaccine but, also vaccine hesitancy, where only 32 percent of African American adults nationwide say they would definitely or probably take a COVID-19 vaccine.
We believe that the administration should be looking for creative approaches to solve these problems and get the vaccine to those most in need. For instance, mobile units can be brought to public housing that is home to seniors and other high-risk populations. Also, the federal government can specifically earmark shipments of the vaccine to be delivered specifically to providers in underserved communities with the highest rates of infection and mortalities.
Our hope is that you can outline the administration’s plan to ensure that underserved communities and communities of color are no longer being left behind during the vaccine distribution process. We request that you also provide us with answers to the following questions:
1. What is the administration’s plan to ensure that more providers in underserved communities, such as community health centers and local pharmacies, receive increased doses of the vaccines?
2. What is being done to ensure that these providers have the infrastructure in place, including cold storage machines, to store the vaccines that require such equipment?
3. What is being done to coordinate mobile vaccination units getting sent to these communities?
4. Has the administration been tracking data on who has received the vaccine, and is this data being disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, and zip code? If so, please provide this data in your response.
5. What is the administration doing to address vaccine hesitancy in communities of color?
Thank you again for your attention to this pressing issue. We look forward to continuing to work with you.
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