Meng Leads Call for New HHS Secretary-Designate to Collect and Provide Demographic Data on COVID-19 Vaccinations to Address Health Disparities for Vulnerable Populations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) announced today that she is leading a letter urging Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary-designate Xavier Becerra to collect, disseminate, and make publicly available a national demographic breakdown of already administered and the future administration of COVID-19 vaccines. The correspondence specifically asks for data on race, ethnicity, age, zip code, disability status, gender, and sexual orientation (if available). Presently, such data does not exist, and a breakdown would ensure that health inequities tied to the vaccine rollout are addressed.

Meng is currently seeking to get other Members of Congress to sign on and plans to send the letter on Monday.

"Racial inequities in health, justice, housing, employment, and education have been rife and buried deeply into our nation's social fabric. Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, other minority groups, the LGBTQI community, and disabled Americans have struggled to achieve true equality before the national health pandemic happened," said Meng. "COVID-19 has disproportionality affected these communities, straining already limited resources to help them in those areas. We have an absolute obligation to ensure that everyone in our state and country has access to the vaccine. A national demographic breakdown of administered COVID-19 vaccines is imperative for Congress to assess and address where the gaps are in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout. This information will also be critical in addressing long-term health disparities and racial inequalities among vulnerable populations. Everyone must be vaccinated, and communities of color must have equal access. I look forward to hearing back from Secretary-designate Becerra, and I know we share a commitment to closing health inequities across our country."

A copy of the correspondence can be viewed here, and the text of the letter is below.

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Dear Secretary-designate Becerra:

We write to bring to your attention the urgent need for a national demographic breakdown of administered COVID-19 vaccines. As such, we urge you to collect, disseminate, and make publicly available demographic breakdown of already administered and future administration of COVID-19 vaccines. Absence of this data breakdown could indirectly increase existing health disparities, and thereby undermine the entire vaccination process and jeopardize our national health and recovery from this pandemic.

As you know, the impact of COVID-19 on seniors and communities of color, in particular Asian American, Black, Latinx, and tribal communities, is extremely heartbreaking. The pandemic has only exacerbated already existing vulnerabilities and inequalities, particularly in access to health care. Furthermore, inadequate access to the COVID-19 vaccine increases health disparities among vulnerable populations across the United States.

As the federal government works through the logistical challenge of vaccinating hundreds of millions of people across the United States, it is imperative that there is equity – as well as publicly available data – on the administration process. A demographic breakdown of COVID-19 vaccination would help ensure health equity and strengthen our country's ability to overcome this national public health emergency.

We, therefore, request that the vaccine administration process include the measures discussed above and would appreciate your response to the following questions:

We look forward to hearing from you on this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

CC: Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention