Fifty-one percent of U.S. COVID-19 shots administered over the last two weeks have gone to people of color, Marcella Nunez-Smith, MD, senior adviser for the White House COVID-19 response team, said during a May 18 news briefing.
"We recognize zip code is a stronger predictor of health," Dr. Nunez-Smith said, adding that bringing vaccines to specific communities has been a good strategy.
Across all FEMA-run federal vaccination sites, about 60 percent of shots have been given to people of color, and about 70 percent of shots administered through the federal government's community health centers have been given to people of color.
The Federal Pharmacy Program, another major federal vaccine delivery channel, reported more than 47 percent of pharmacy doses administered through its program in the last two weeks went to people of color.
Dr. Nunez-Smith noted that many people of color only recently became eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine because people of color tend to be younger.