Wisconsin has vaccinated more than 10 times as many white residents as all other ethnicities combined

MADISON, Wis. — New data released on the Wisconsin Department of Health Services website on Thursday shows the race and ethnicity of the people vaccinated in the state so far.

DHS’s graph looks at the proportion of people vaccinated by race. At first glance, it looks like minorities aren’t too far behind in receiving vaccine. It shows 10% of the white population has been vaccinated, compared to 3% of the Black population and 3% of the Hispanic population.

But this graph isn’t taking into account that white people make up 80% of Wisconsin’s population. Latinos make up about 7% and the Black community makes up 6%.

So when you take a look at the number of vaccines given to each of these groups, the disparities are actually much higher.

More than 550,000 white residents have been vaccinated, compared to just 13,000 Black residents and about 12,000 Latino residents. Less than 6,000 American Indian residents have been vaccinated.

This means the state has vaccinated more than 40 times as many white residents as Black residents, and almost 45 times more white residents than Latino residents.

Wisconsin has vaccinated more than 10 times as many white residents than all other ethnicities combined.

But DHS data also shows that Latinos are more likely to get COVID, Black people are more likely to be hospitalized because of COVID, and American Indian residents are more likely to die of COVID.

So even though the goal is to stop more severe COVID cases, Wisconsin is not vaccinating enough people who have been proven to have the most sick and deadly reactions to the virus.

“We have a lot of work to do in Wisconsin to achieve equitable vaccine distribution and uptake. And even more work to do to achieve equitable health outcomes beyond vaccination. It is work we are committed to doing. And this is a start,” said DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk.

On Thursday, she said DHS is releasing this data to be transparent, and the state is committed to equitable distribution of the vaccine.

“We are making intentional decisions to reduce systemic barriers and encourage vaccine uptake in our communities of color across Wisconsin. These intentional decisions include prioritizing vaccine orders for our tribal partners, community health centers, federally qualified health centers and local health departments providing services for socially vulnerable Wisconsinites,” said Willems Van Dijk.

She said DHS is also directing $6 million in grant funds to support community-based organizations to do vaccine outreach and education.