Pa. Health Department highlights vaccine equity efforts amid spotty race and ethnicity data collection during pandemic

Written by on March 18, 2021

Pa. Health Department highlights vaccine equity efforts amid spotty race and ethnicity data collection during pandemic

By Sam Dunklau / WITF

March 18, 2021

Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is being criticized for how it factors race and ethnicity into its vaccine distribution decisions.

Listen to the story.

The DOH says it’s using outreach campaigns and community partnerships to try and get more shots into the arms of people of color.

Statistics show vaccination rates for people of color lag behind those for white people, but the Department of Health relies more on population numbers than race and ethnicity in figuring out where to send doses each week.

The department has been criticized for not prioritizing that data in vaccine distribution decisions. 

Even so, the Rev. De Neice Welch, who leads a church outside Pittsburgh, says DOH has been sharing a lot of reliable information about the vaccines which has helped build trust among her Black congregation members.

“We were able to discover facts from myth and address personal and community fear with truth” Welch says 

Welch says 40% of her members have been vaccinated so far, and more are expected to follow.

The health department’s David Saunders says groups like the Black Doctors Consortium are among the dozens of organizations trying to combat that distrust.

“Our partners are so engaged and eager to help with vaccine educational activities, acceptance messaging, and distribution strategies. They are excited as they, like we, see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Saunders says. 

Meanwhile, the health department says it will be more transparent in its equity efforts by sharing them on an expanded webpage.

Sign up for our WLVR weekly newsletter to stay up to date with the latest news from the Lehigh Valley and across Pennsylvania.


News

Current track

Title

Artist

Background