The percentage of residents fully vaccinated by county shows which areas have higher rates of immunization compared to the statewide rate.
In Dallas, where more than half of the first doses went to residents who lived in whiter and wealthier zip codes, city leaders in January tried to address inequities by prioritizing specific zip codes with vulnerable populations above others.
Many Texas counties and cities continue to focus on zip codes that are considered at risk under the Social Vulnerability Index which is a set of criteria established set by the Centers for Disease control that includes social factors like minority status, language and housing, and transportation availability.
Priority groups and various barriers contribute to inequities
In the initial months of the state’s vaccination effort, inequalities could likely be attributed to the fact that the first phase concentrated mostly on health care workers and people 65 and older, said Jamboor Vishwanatha, director of the Texas Center for Health Disparities at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.
Nationally, white people have longer lifespans on average than Black and Hispanic people, and when vaccines were prioritized for older age groups, many people of color were subsequently left out.
On top of this, technology, transportation, language, and occupational barriers have prevented many people of color from accessing doses.
Vishwanatha said although some of the disparities in vaccinating people of color were initially attributed to vaccine hesitancy, recent data shows acceptance rates are largely the same among white, Black, and Hispanic people. He said the early reports gave “the wrong notion” about the source of the disparities.
“Right now, it’s more about availability of the vaccine and access to the vaccine, particularly for people who either are homebound or have mobility issues or … are unable to take time off,” Vishwanatha said. “Right now, it’s all about how the distribution goes. As long as that evens out, [they’ll be] in a better place.”