66 Percent Of Illinois' Vaccine Shots Went Into White Arms

CHICAGO — So far, at least 66-percent of coronavirus vaccine shots administered in Illinois were injected in the arms of white people, with whites receiving doses twice as fast as Black and Brown communities, according to limited demographic data released Friday.

While the data released by the state is missing racial information about the recipients of more than 10 percent of doses administered, when compared to statewide demographic data, it indicates at least 11 percent of non-Hispanic white Illinoisans have received at least one dose of vaccine.

That's more than twice the rate of Black and Latino Illinoisans. About 5.1 percent of Black residents and 4.2 percent of Latino residents have been inoculated, respectively.

About 7.8 percent of Asian residents have been vaccinated, according to a comparison of census estimates and the vaccine data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

In January, Gov. J.B. Pritzker's administration expanded vaccine eligibility to include people at least 65 years old, saying the move would increase access to minority populations.

"Generally, Latinx and Black populations have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 with data showing related deaths at younger ages. We are hopeful that by lowering the eligibility age to 65 years we can help reduce this disparity," state public health director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a statement.

On Friday, Pritzker said his decision to once again expand the Phase 1b priority group — wherein roughly 90 percent of the seniors and essential workers eligible have yet to be vaccinated — to include people under the age of 65 with underlying health conditions who are not essential workers was also an issue of equity.

"By expanding the pool of those eligible to get a vaccine as our supplies are projected to increase," the governor said, "Illinois is advancing the goals of attaining equity, keeping those most at risk, healthy, and reducing new cases hospitalizations and deaths."

The demographic data was released Friday, making Illinois one of the last states to make race data public.

State public health officials did not include any accompanying explanation as to why minorities have lagged in getting vaccinations.

The demographic data also shows about 30 percent of people at least 65 years old have been vaccinated.

And, in all, more women have been vaccinated than men. Women have received 1.04 million doses of vaccine, about 43 percent more than men, the data shows.

Patch staff contributed.