Black Michiganders make up 14 percent of the state's population and have died of Covid-19 at a rate 40 percent higher than whites. And yet, they make up just 3.7 percent of people who've received at least a first dose of the vaccine, new state data reported by the Free Press shows.
The demographic disparity was found in 56 percent of people who've received shots in recent weeks. The state wasn't keeping track of race early into its vaccine rollout.
Michigan's numbers for vaccine distribution to African-Americans are worse than at the national level, where 6.4 percent of vaccine recipients are reported to be Black.
A slight disparity exists even in Detroit, which is approximately 80 percent Black. There, the city has distributed more than 70 percent of its vaccines to Black people, Mayor Mike Duggan told the Free Press.
The numbers could be boosted with increased vaccine distribution in the city. According to Freep, fewer than 9 percent of Detroiters have gotten at least a first dose of the vaccines, compared with nearly 16 percent of people statewide.
