Posted on 03/04/21
| News Source: WBAL
One of the big topics in Maryland is getting attention on the federal level as well: Vaccine equity and access.
Maryland health officials said the state would be ramping up the number of shots given at the state's mass vaccination sites. But volume alone will not solve the state's problem of COVID-19 vaccine equity and access, community leaders said Wednesday.
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, held a virtual roundtable, in which he said economic help is on the way. He told community leaders and advocates that help is on the way in the stimulus bill that passed the House. He said the bill includes more money for vaccines and vaccine distribution.
Van Hollen highlighted a White House promise that more federal vaccines will be flowing directly into community health centers, eventually.
The senator laid out data that shows significant racial disparities in the vaccine distribution process so far in Maryland. He also pointed to the mortality rates and the economic impact from COVID-19 that has disproportionately hit communities of color in Maryland.
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The senator said a troubling development is that the vaccine is not getting to communities of color, where COVID-19 has hit the hardest.
"If you look at the data, it's clear that white Marylanders are receiving the vaccine at a rate of two times what members of the Black community in Maryland are receiving it. And if you look at the Latino community, they've received about 4% of Maryland's vaccines when they represent about 11% of the overall population. These numbers are unacceptable and they need to change," Van Hollen said.