For COVID-19 vaccinations, party affiliation matters more than race and ethnicity

At the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccination push nine months ago, many experts worriedwith justificationthat people of color would be left behind. Sadly, it is a well-established fact that people of color suffer from poorer access to quality health care. And early on, there was some evidence of these disparities; in March of this year, for example, I documented inequities in vaccine share among Black Americans in Maryland. Fortunately, the situation has improved over time, in part because governments at every level have worked hard to make vaccines and accurate information available to everyone. According to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) released on Sept. 28, gaps in vaccination rates across racial and ethnic groups have virtually disappearedwhile gaps reflecting political affiliation have widened substantially.