Los Angeles County made significant progress in delivering COVID-19 vaccines in communities of color hardest hit by the pandemic, but those areas still lag far behind wealthier neighborhoods and the county as a whole, according to a data analysis by The Times.
Some neighborhoods in South Los Angeles, where the spread of the coronavirus was particularly devastating, had the largest increase in the number of residents with at least one dose between March 1 and this past Monday, data shows. Other areas that saw major improvements include Thai Town, in Hollywood, Lennox, and Cudahy.
However, despite the progress, the areas continue to have vaccination rates below the county average.
In each of the 10 communities that showed the largest relative gains over the past six weeks, the proportion of the population 16 years and older that received at least one dose remains below 30%. By comparison, 37.1% of Los Angeles County residents age 16 and older had received at least one injection as of April 4, according to public health data.
The Times analysis, which compared growth in vaccination rates in communities with at least 5,000 residents, indicates that the county is making progress on its goal of ensuring an equitable distribution of precious doses.
But, as Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer noted this week, “we still have a long way to go.” “A lot of work and consideration went into this. We have had a lot of support from our religious community and community organizations ”, added the official. “We have had organizational efforts to make it easier for people to reach the vaccination sites and lists have been made of places where we should bring the doses to those with limited mobility. So, it was not by chance. “
Emphasizing the effort will become more important starting Thursday, when the county, and California as a whole, will begin allowing all residents age 16 and older to book appointments, a move that will add millions more individuals to the vaccination line.
Analysis of the newspaper also revealed that while vaccination accelerated in some areas, there were more modest increases in others. In particular, these areas tended to be wealthier communities, which already had significant portions of their population immunized.
From March 1 through Monday, the smallest relative increases in terms of the percentage of residents age 16 and older who were vaccinated at least partially were seen in Westwood, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates, Palos Verdes Estates, Encino, Century City, Cheviot Hills, Beverly Crest, Beverly Hills and Bel-Air.
At least 50% of the residents in nearly all of those communities, except Westwood, have received a dose so far.
Health officials said for months that vaccination is affected by the same inequities in terms of access to health care and poverty that have been aggravated by generations. For example, those who could take time off work to visit a distant vaccination clinic, or who could constantly update a web portal to get an appointment on demand, had a clear advantage over someone whose employment was less flexible or who did not have the same employment. access to transport or internet. “People who can travel, who have cars, whose jobs allow them to spend time in front of the computer to get an appointment, all of them had advantages, particularly in the first days of vaccination,” Ferrer said.
Cheviot Hills serves as an example. About 37% of the population 16 and older in that west side community had already received at least one dose of vaccine by March 1. That proportion has since increased to almost 64%.
At the other end of the spectrum is University Park in South Los Angeles, where only about 6.5% of residents had received at least one dose as of early March.
Since then, the number has grown remarkably, to just over 25%, but the area still lags far behind the county average in vaccine coverage.
The median household income for the top 10 county communities with the largest changes in vaccination rates during the period under review is approximately $ 42,000. On the sites with the least changes, it is $ 141,000.
Age was likely another factor in some communities getting a faster boost than others, as elderly residents were among the first groups in Los Angeles County to be prioritized for access to vaccines.
The top 10 communities with the biggest recent changes in vaccine coverage rates are much younger than the county as a whole.
The proportion of residents who are at least 65 years old in those places is 8.2%. For the areas with the lowest relative growth in the vaccination rate, it is 22.8%. About 14.1% of residents across the county are over the age of 65, according to the US Census Bureau.
However, the problems of inequality are impossible to ignore. Recently released data continues to show a stubborn gap in vaccination rate across the county between Black and Latino residents, compared to other groups.
As of April 4, 22.7% of the county’s Black and Latino residents age 16 and older had received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared with 40.4% of Asian residents, 38.1% of Native American residents. Alaska / Native Americans and 37.1% of white residents.
This gap in vaccination coverage is especially concerning when it comes to the county’s Latino residents, who have been infected and died from COVID-19 at higher rates than other groups.
Officials and experts have long noted that low-income Latino neighborhoods are highly susceptible to the spread of the coronavirus due to densely populated housing and overcrowded living conditions. A higher proportion of Latinos are also essential workers who were unable to perform their tasks from home, or are employed in higher-risk environments, creating a circumstance in which they may have become ill at work and later spread the virus to their employees. relatives.
In addition to a greater likelihood of exposure, Latinos are also less likely to have access to quality care due to long-entrenched structural inequalities, something “which is a recipe for trouble,” according to Dr. David Hayes- Bautista, a distinguished professor of medicine at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.
Unless these structural issues are addressed, “when the next pandemic comes, and we will know it will come […], we will see, unfortunately, the same tragic results, “he highlighted in a recent interview.
In early March, California began dedicating 40% of its total COVID-19 vaccine supply to communities that fall within the lowest quartile of a socioeconomic measurement tool called the California Healthy Places Index.
In the weeks that followed, Los Angeles County made strides to close its vaccination gaps.
From March 4 to April 4, the proportion of eligible-age Latinos in the county who had received at least one dose more than doubled – from 10.5% to 22.7%, official data shows.
During that same period, vaccination coverage also grew substantially for American Indian / Alaska Native residents, from 19% to 38.1%; and for black residents, from 12% to 22.7%.
By comparison, Asian and white residents had more modest, but still significant, increases in their vaccination rates countywide: from 22.6% to 40.4% and 21.2% to 37.1%, respectively.
“That’s a good sign that we’re closing the gaps, but obviously we need to do it faster,” warned Dr. Paul Simon, chief scientific officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, during a recent briefing.
According to the official, the county continues to take a series of measures aimed at improving vaccine coverage in the most affected communities, such as the distribution of single-use codes that the population can use to schedule their shifts near their home, designating days at specific sites for residents in specified areas; establish mobile and pop-up vaccine clinics; and work with community groups to spread the word and reduce any barriers that prevent access to vaccines. “I believe that, if we continue to focus on addressing inequality in vaccination rates, if we make the process easier, obtain more information, and achieve good partnerships, we will close that gap,” Ferrer anticipated.
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