Montco Urges Residents To Self-Identify When Getting Vaccine

NORRISTOWN, PA -- Montgomery County is urging residents to self-identify their demographic information like race and ethnicity when they receive the COVID-19 vaccine, as part of an effort to ensure equity in immunizations.

Thus far, roughly about one in six of all individuals who have received a vaccine through the county have declined to provide their information, or nearly 33,000 individuals.

"The accurate collection of racial and ethnic data to inform our equitable vaccine distribution strategies is extremely important," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said. "I continue to ask our community to join us in this effort to make sure that as vaccine efforts continue, we are reaching all members of our population."

Data shows that white individuals represent 86 percent of the vaccinated population in the county, even though they only represent 78 percent of the overall population.

Black individuals represent 9.6 percent of the county, but only 4.7 percent of those who have been vaccinated.

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Even more dramatically, Hispanic individuals represent 5.4 percent of the county, but 1.9 percent of vaccinations; Asians represent 7.7 percent of the overall population, but just 0.7 percent of the vaccinations.

Accurate collection of this data informs county outreach efforts to these groups, to provide education on vaccine safety and address any skepticism toward the doses which may exist in the community.

For more information on registering for a vaccine, see the county's page here.