New data from some U.S. states and localities closely tracking the monkeypox outbreak show extreme racial disparities that have experts worried, the U.S. news website reported Thursday.
In Georgia, 82% of people with the disease are black, while in North Carolina, that percentage is 70%. In those two states, and nationally, nearly all of the cases involve men having sex with men, according to the article.
“The disparities appear to be further compounded by the lack of access to the vaccine for people of color,” the article points out.
Data from North Carolina shows black men received 22% of vaccine doses, a figure that matches the state’s black population but not the high number of black men who have been infected, according to the report. ‘article.
Nationally, white males appear to be receiving a much larger share of the vaccine, a factor that public health experts say is undermining efforts to protect vulnerable populations with less access to health care resources, adds the item.