NEW YORK: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is acknowledging that Black and Latino New Yorkers are receiving COVID-19 vaccines at far lower rates than white or Asian residents.
Data released by the city's health department shows that 48 per cent of the city residents who have gotten at least one vaccine dose are white.
That's far higher than the roughly one-third the city's population that is non-Hispanic white.
Just 11 per cent of vaccine doses administered to New York City residents went to Black people and 15 per cent to Latinos.
The vaccine numbers are incomplete because about 40 per cent of people who have been vaccinated in the city haven't provided demographic information.
Still, the figures mirror vaccination data from other cities and states.
"Clearly, we do see a profound disparity that needs to be addressed aggressively and creatively," de Blasio said in a conference call with reporters.
We've got a profound problem of distrust and hesitancy, particularly in communities of colour."