Rep. Grace Meng
Grace Meng Remember Asian-American Voters Democrats See Spike In Turnout Among Asian-American, Pacific Islander Voters Five House Democrats Who Could Join Biden Cabinet MORE (DN.Y.) on Sunday Xavier Becerra
Xavier Becerra Goodwin Liu’s background and experience make him an ideal choice for Attorney General Braun in California: Biden must reconsider divisive HHS nominee Xavier Becerra Biden’s cabinet, gradually affirmed by the Senate., President Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, to collect and provide data that breaks down the demographics of vaccine administration to address health inequalities among vulnerable populations.
“Racial inequalities in health, justice, housing, employment and education are widespread and buried deep in the social fabric of our nation,” Meng said in a statement. “Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Indians, other minority groups, the LGBTQI community and disabled Americans are struggling to achieve true equality before the national health pandemic happened.”
Meng is currently looking for other lawmakers to sign a letter to Becerra, which she plans to send Monday.
“A national demographic breakdown of COVID-19 vaccines administered is imperative for Congress to review and address where the gaps are in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines,” Meng wrote. “This information will also be critical in addressing long-term health inequalities and racial inequalities between vulnerable populations.”
“Everyone should be vaccinated and communities of color should have equal access,” said Meng.
In her letter, Meng asked what data on vaccine administration has been received from states and territories to date, whether or not the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has collected demographic data on vaccines, and what the government agency intended to do. do to address this. “social vulnerability” in the distribution of vaccines.
Since communities of color, particularly black and Hispanic communities, have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, data has indicated that they received a relatively smaller share of the vaccine compared to more white, wealthier populations.
Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to work in jobs that expose them to the virus and are more likely to have a more serious case of the virus due to underlying health conditions.
Aside from a lack of access, hesitation with vaccines may also have contributed to lower vaccination coverage in these communities. A recent study by Pew Research found that 42 percent of black Americans said they would get the vaccine, compared to more than 60 percent of white and Hispanic adults.
Biden’s Surgeon General nominee, Vivek Murthy
Vivek MurthyBill and Melinda Gates warn pandemic could unleash ‘immunity inequality’ Biden to name nurse as acting surgeon general: Sunday shows report – Biden agenda, Trump impeachment trial dominates MORE, addressed the apparent inequality in an interview last week and seemed to share in Meng’s call to collect demographics.
“We already know from last year’s COVID crisis that there are certain communities that have been badly affected by this virus, that rural communities have had more difficult access to resources, that communities of color have experienced more cases and deaths, that seniors have struggled, especially those in long-term facilities, ”said Murthy.
“We need to make sure we have data on where the vaccine is being administered so that we can make sure that it is in fact distributed fairly,” Murthy added.