25 US states want to 'prioritize' non-whites for vaccines

Twenty-five out of all 50 states have "committed to a focus on racial and ethnic communities" when deciding who should receive the coronavirus vaccine first.

"According to our analysis, 25 states have committed to a focus on racial and ethnic communities as they decided which groups should be prioritized in receiving a coronavirus vaccine dose," tweeted Jon Levine.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has asked all American states to look at possible critical and vulnerable groups in order to prioritize them for the novel coronavirus vaccine, which has started to ship within the US as of Dec. 13, and have mentioned ethnic and minority communities as being good candidates for early delivery of the vaccine.

Twelve of the 25 states which have specifically targeted communities of color for receiving the vaccine on a priority bases have gone as far as working with healthcare companies which are based in areas with large minority populations.

For example, Michigan has stated that minority status and native language could be factors determining how quickly one can have access to the vaccine.

In New Mexico, authorities have stated that they plan to focus on the state's Native American population.

In North Carolina, officials have "specifically cited historically marginalized populations as an early-phase critical population group".

And in Oregon, the health department stated that they will make sure that "Black, Indigenous, Latino/Latina/Latinx, Pacific Islander, and Tribal communities have equitable access to vaccination". Rachael Banks the head of the department, had already announced that vaccines would be "particularly focused on our communities of color who've seen unfair disproportionate impact from COVID-19"