Maps show ZIP codes hit hardest by COVID-19 have low vaccination rates

Photo by Scott Olson / Getty ImagesFrom the start of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, experts warned that it would take careful attention to make sure it was distributed equitably. Making sure non-white and poorer communities had access to life-saving vaccines would be an issue of justice and a public health necessity. Throughout 2020, these groups had higher rates of death and disease from the virus than white and wealthy people, so protecting them would be key to the overall goal of using vaccines to save the most lives.
Despite those warnings, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign got off to a rough and unequal start. By the middle of January, when 17 states were reporting race and ethnicity data, analyses showed that Black and Hispanic people were vaccinated at lower rates…

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