NYC Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout Left People Of Color Behind: Data

NEW YORK CITY — New York City’s rocky coronavirus vaccine rollout largely left Black and Brown city dwellers behind despite high-profile promises to avoid racial disparities, according to newly-released data.

White recipients received 48 percent of COVID-19 vaccine doses that went to New York City residents, the data shows.

Black and Latino city dwellers — two groups who bore the pandemic’s brunt — respectively received 11 percent and 15 percent of shots, according to the data.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday said the data shows a “profound disparity” that must to be addressed.

“Clearly, what we see is a particularly pronounced reality of many more people from white communities, getting vaccinations than folks from Black and Latino communities,” he said. “We're going to go over that data, and we're going to keep building on it.“

Advocates and reporters for days pressed de Blasio and city officials to release data on vaccine demographics.

When the city finally did on Sunday, it came with a significant caveat — 40 percent of vaccine recipients have unknown race or ethnicity, according to health department data.

De Blasio said health department officials will make a more concerted effort to get that data going forward. But he acknowledged a significant racial disparity existed in the vaccination rollout and must be addressed.

The disparity grows wider when people who live outside New York City but received their shots in the city are counted.

White people, both residents and non-residents, accounted for nearly 51 percent of all vaccine doses received in the city, according to the data.