Democratic Lawmakers Push for Race Data in Vaccinations

Senator Ed Markey

Democratic lawmakers are urging federal health officials to address racial disparity in vaccine access nationwide in a letter sent to the acting Health and Human Services secretary, Norris Cochran IV.

Data from some states has shown hard-hit nonwhite Americans who are eligible to receive the vaccine are not receiving it in proportion to their share of the population.

In the letter, sent Thursday, Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, all from Massachusetts, say the agency must work with states, municipalities and private labs to collect and publish demographic data of vaccine recipients.

Without that information, policymakers and health workers cannot efficiently identify vaccine disparities in the hardest-hit communities, the lawmakers say.