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  • America's Covid 19 vaccine drive is failing to reach black and Hispanic communities.

  • That's according to a study out earlier this month by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

  • It found that in the US, white people are being vaccinated at twice the rate of African Americans and 2.5 times the rate of Hispanic Americans.

  • That inequality is both stark and deadly.

  • Communities of color are at a higher risk of severe or fatal covid 19 infections.

  • But interviews with dozens of nonprofits and philanthropic groups reveal no comprehensive federal effort to address the problem.

  • It's one thing to have efficiency that we have to have equity as well.

  • Under the new Biden administration, the federal government is only now getting started on serious efforts to promote vaccination in minority communities, advocates say What's needed is a nationally coordinated marketing campaign.

  • Some want to revive a nationwide network that helped boost response rates to the 2020 census in minority communities and turn it toward vaccination.

  • But an effective effort, they said, could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

  • Another hurdle is mistrust.

  • A Reuters Ipsos poll in December showed black people in particular were far more likely to fear vaccination than white people.

  • This week, the Biden administration announced that it would spend $250 million to encourage Covid 19 safety and vaccination among underserved populations, and more money could come from a massive Covid 19 rescue package that is set to go into effect as soon as this week.

America's Covid 19 vaccine drive is failing to reach black and Hispanic communities.

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