A lack of data is further masking vaccination rollout transparency, health equity researchers say. "The anecdotes are piling up, and it's not a pretty picture. We don't know and we should know. This should be mandated," said Dr. Debra Furr-Holden.

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The COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force promises an expansion of "equity data collection." Said Dr. Debra Furr-Holden, "Health data disparities are a huge, understudied, massive barrier to the kind of work that we need to be doing,"

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Black and Latino Americans “are falling behind in the nationwide race to get vaccinated against COVID-19.” The federal government doesn’t explicitly mandate vaccines be distributed or administered equitably, “so you’ve got states like Michigan that are well-meaning and thoughtful but didn’t have a comprehensive plan,” shared Dr. Debra Furr-Holden.

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How do we overcome COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the community? Public health expert Dr. Debra Furr-Holden offers three solutions:

1. Time
2. Transparency
3. Trust

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There’s still a key population not being vaccinated right now in our country. Epidemiologist Dr. Debra Furr-Holden talks with Stephanie Ruhle to explain why equal access needs to play a more serious role in the vaccine distribution process. She said, "This pandemic has only widened the disparitites gap." #MandateEquity

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“It's more than just medical mistrust, it's well-earned systemic and societal mistrust for a system that doesn't treat us fairly.” said Dr. Debra Furr-Holden. She and Yvonne Lewis talk with Michigan Radio about how the mistrust caused by the Flint water crisis is seeping into views of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

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Michigan's long-time immunization registry doesn’t collect race data.The gap is a “predictable and avoidable breakdown” for a public health system that needs accurate information to identify and shrink health disparities...Good intentions are no longer enough. It’s time for mandates: Every vaccine that is delivered in Michigan should generate basic demographic data," epidemiologist Dr. Debra Furr-Holden said to Bridge Michigan. #MandateEquity 

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The state is now reporting data on race and the COVID-19 vaccine in an effort to help track equity when it comes to protection from the virus. "We've had vaccine administration at local churches and it turns out that the people in fact who are receiving the vaccine are not members of that church, they're not necessarily even residents in the community where the church is located," Dr. Debra Furr-Holden said. “More demographic data for respective communities is needed to ensure equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.”

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It’s not clear how equitable or unequitable the state’s vaccine rollout has been because nearly 44 percent of the data is missing. But the numbers we have now show inequality says Debra Furr-Holden, a member of the state’s task force on racial disparities and director of the Flint Center for Health Equity Solutions. “What we’ve witnessed is what I call the impact of privilege, people who can have managed to jockey their way to the front of the line,”

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Johnson & Johnson has an opportunity to ease the inequity of vaccine distribution in Michigan, but it must be handled carefully. "We can't push the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on the underserved. It can be a great equalizer, but we have to still continue to monitor equity, distribution, and administration. Otherwise, people will have their mistrust heightened if they feel like this new vaccine is the one being pushed on underserved populations." Dr. Debra Furr-Holden said.

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Dr. Debra Furr-Holden personally knows health care workers in Genesee County who did not get the vaccine as soon as they were eligible because their employers wouldn’t give them time off to get the shot. “Many of the health care workers I spoke to said, ‘If I had been given the day off, I would’ve gotten the vaccine,” Furr-Holden said. 

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Dr. Renee Canady heads the Michigan Public Health Institute.
"If this were affecting white men, we'd be running to that fire because it is our professional obligation. So, when we have seen repeated over and over again this pattern where disproportionately Black, Latino, Native American communities are suffering more it is our moral and professional responsibility to go there," Canady said. 

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