The U.S is nearing one million COVID-19 deaths, with Black people accounting for 14% of deaths (Hill and Artiga, 2022). Though that statistic may sound reasonable, 14% of deaths are higher than the population Blacks account for in America, which is a meager 13%. Worse, only 3% of the participants in the COVID-19 vaccine trials are Black, thus possibly jeopardizing the vaccination trial’s legitimacy. Vaccine trials with a wide range of participants must develop a treatment that works for everyone. Because of evident discrepancies in modern-day care and past experiences of abuse, many Black people claim they do not trust the medical profession. Misinformation regarding the vaccine development process has also contributed to the problem. Low Black involvement in COVID-19 vaccination tests might have severe ramifications for their health and well-being in the future. The CDC reported that “rural counties had lower first-dose vaccination coverage (58.5%) than did urban counties (75.4%)” (Saelee et al., 2022). These data show that many Black American children and their families who live in poor and rural areas have not received the vaccine, despite being entitled to it through COVID-19. There are three explanations: 1) health providers have given up on this community; 2) a lack of funds has led to difficulties obtaining the vaccine; 3) cultural resistance prevents some families from vaccinating their children.

I have written before here about the role of the health delivery system in creating health disparities for African Americans. The system is so fragmented and localized that it is difficult to get uniform access, even for people who qualify for Medicaid. Even when Black children have access to medical care, they are still less likely to receive healthy child checkups than white children. But if a child does go to a doctor, there is also evidence that they will be less likely to get immunized than their white counterpart (CDC, 2022). The CDC has tracked immunization rates nationally and in each state since 2004. In the same way that health disparities are measured by high blood pressure, smoking, and obesity rates, the CDC tracks differences in vaccination rates across races. According to their latest data, Colorado has a lower overall vaccination rate (for both regular and seasonal vaccines) than the national average, with a 4% disparity between Blacks and Whites. But the difference grows considerably if one looks only at Black children. According to information provided by COVID-19, restrictions that limit vaccine availability do not necessarily explain all this disparity. There are many factors other than vaccine access that can affect if someone gets vaccinated or not. These include personal, social, and financial barriers to vaccination.

A survey conducted by Axios shows that “more than half of unvaccinated Americans live in households that make less than $50,000 annually” (Herman, 2021). That, coupled with the data from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) stating that “the median Black household earned just 61 cents for every dollar of income the median white household earned” (Wilson, 2020), shows the correlation between Black people and their lack of funds and their inability to access vaccines. But is this really because of the color of their skin? I believe that it is not just because they’re Black that they are at a disadvantage. It’s because they don’t have the money to acquire vaccines, which means there’s also less chance for them to protect themselves from diseases like COVID-19.