As more Delawareans get vaccinated, communities of color are still being left behind.
As of Tuesday, just 22% of Black Delawareans had received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to nearly 38% of white Delawareans. And the vaccination rate among Delaware’s Hispanic residents was less than half that of non-Hispanics.
The State of Delaware is working to get information about the vaccine out to its communities of color—and make vaccination events available to them.
Darryl “Wolfie” Chambers of the Wilmington Community Intervention Team leads the effort, which involves literature drops and inviting people to vaccination events with vouchers. Chambers says it’s about getting information out to people so they can make informed decisions—in a targeted way.
“You have to follow the data,” he said. “And what does the social vulnerability index tell us? There are certain neighborhoods that stick out, that need to be addressed, that need to have this information, that need to get tested, that need to get vaccinated, that need to be educated about this process.”
Chambers says the key is working with trusted community leaders.
“Those social informational hubs—those barber shops, the libraries, those street corners, any place that people of color meet at, so that we can pass along this valuable and critical information,” he said.
A national NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist poll last month showed similar levels of vaccine hesitancy among Black and White Americans, with Republican men the group least likely to want the vaccine.
Delaware’s demographic data on vaccinations is incomplete, as some early vaccine providers did not record it.
