For a few weeks we’ve been calling on ADHS to disclose the demographic information on the distribution of COVID vaccines so we can determine whether the vaccine is being equitably distributed.
We have been concerned that the ADHS appointment system provides an advantage to the wealthy.
Last week, ADHS released some demographic information. Here’s the link to that site: ADHS – Data Dashboard. Click on the vaccine tab (they didn’t disclose the most important data- the vaccination rates by Zip Code).
Fortunately, Maricopa County Public Health Maricopa posted maps last week that do exactly what we have been asking the state to do- and much more. The MCDPH maps display the percentage of ELIGIBLE persons that have been vaccinated by Zip Code.
That means they have controlled (using census data) for any bias that would have been present because of an uneven distribution of healthcare workers, teachers, law enforcement etc.
The method that Maricopa County used undercuts the argument made by Director Christ at last Friday’s media briefing. She argued that the disparities exist because of the phased rollout.
Maricopa used census data to control for occupation and age. The maps show a disparity that is not related to the phased vaccine rollout.
The maps show a sharp economic disparity largely due to the ADHS appointment system that favors the wealthy and well-educated. This quote from a the US News and World Report from yesterday tells it like it is:
“It’s no surprise when you look at the way the appointment system is set up, the Darwinian aspects of it,” said Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, referring to the state registration website. “You’ve got to have a good computer. You’ve got to have Wi-Fi. You have to have a flexible job that lets you be home those minutes when appointments become open.”
Maricopa’s coded maps show that upscale areas have a high vaccination rate. For example, in Paradise Valley, almost every eligible person has gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. The same is true in one part of Scottsdale. In contrast, Phoenix’s 85009 Zip Code, less than one in five eligible people got the vaccine.
One way to flatten out the disparities would be to create a vaccine lottery system, or, better yet, a weighted lottery system that gives applicants from low saturation neighborhoods a statistically better chance of being chosen in the lottery.
The ADHS could create such a system in a few days. The computer code would be simple to write. Sadly, the Director Christ is highly unlikely to make significant changes. That would require admitting that the current system is favoring the wealthy and creating disparities, something that she is unlikely to do.
As I said in the AZ Capitol Times Yellow Sheet last Friday:
“There are ways to be proactive about it but if we just keep this Darwinian system, it’s just gonna keep getting worse,” he said. Humble again called on the Governor’s Office and Dept of Health Services to recognize they have a problem, saying if the map doesn’t do that, he doesn’t know what will.
Here are a couple of highlights regarding vaccine equity. This column by Laurie Roberts last week highlights one such solution: How Arizona could do a ‘great job’ on COVID-19 vaccine appointments.
Jennifer Martinez from FOX10 also explores issues with vaccine access equity: Some fear vaccination efforts are leaving ethnic minorities behind.
