CONNECTICUT, USA — Data showing how vaccines have been administered as of February 3, in Connecticut was released by its Department of Public Health, showing disparities exist in vaccine administration across racial lines.
The CT DPH reports the data reflects what other states across the United States have seen: Black populations lagging behind White and Hispanic populations.
The data should be interpreted with several caveats, says the CT DPH. These caveats are certain gaps in recording race/ethnicity. Providers and people have the option to select "Other," "Mulitple races," or "Not reported," making analysis and comparisons across races difficult. It was also mentioned providers use multiple ways to report data to the CT DPH, which can lead to missing or under-reporting data as the data is aggregated and analyzed.
The DPH acting commissioner said the data does suggest disparities in the administrations of the vaccines to the historically underserved communities like Black populations.
“As we open up the vaccine program to individuals 65 and over, we are redoubling our efforts to ensure that vaccine is reaching the communities and populations who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” said Commissioner Gifford. “We are re-allocating additional vaccine to communities with large minority populations, encouraging our vaccine providers to conduct outreach and implement other measures to ensure that individuals from underserved communities have equitable access to vaccinations.”
In response to these disparities, the CT DPH is implementing several strategies to address them, such as ensuring adequate vaccine supply and establishing a Vaccine Appointment Assist Line (877-918-224) to broaden access to residents without internet or who have technical issues and for non-English speaking residents.
According to the CT DPH's website, Connecticut has vaccinated 9.4% of its population as of February 4. Some of the cities with the lowest populations in terms of vaccine administration are Bridgeport and New Britain. The towns with the highest populations in terms of vaccinations are Hebron and Roxbury. Below is the data from the DPH's report which suggests disparities.