Black People Are 80% More Likely to Be Hospitalized for Influenza
According to a recent CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Black patients are 80% more likely than White patients to be hospitalized for influenza, partially due to low vaccination coverage.
As flu season approaches and healthcare professionals encourage the public to vaccinate against influenza, the CDC has analyzed the rates of hospitalization and vaccination across different racial and ethnic groups. In a recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the CDC stated that racial and ethnic minority groups had a higher rate of influenza hospitalizations and lower vaccination coverage between 2009 and 2022. Specifically, the organization noticed that, compared to White populations, Black populations were 80% more likely to be hospitalized with the flu.
Additionally, they noticed that American Indians or Alaskan Natives were 30% more likely than White populations to be hospitalized with the flu. Finally, Hispanic people were 20% more likely. These discrepancies are, in part, associated with reduced vaccination coverage.
According to the MMWR, vaccination coverage was only 37.9% among Hispanic populations. The rate of vaccination coverage for Black people was 42.0%. Additionally, for American Indians or Alaskan Natives, vaccination coverage was 40.9%. Comparatively, vaccination coverage for White populations was the highest at 53.9%.
Furthermore, the report compared these influenza disparities to COVID disparities observed throughout the pandemic. While, in part, vaccination coverage has contributed to hospitalization rates, it is not the only factor.
Aside from vaccination rates, the CDC believes that distrust of the medical systems, unclear vaccination education, and lower coverage rates also play a role in the elevated hospitalization rates. Additional barriers may be reduced accessibility, worse quality healthcare, and a lack of preventative healthcare. Moreover, racial and ethnic minority groups are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions that exacerbate symptoms of influenza.
“Tailored programmatic efforts to provide influenza vaccination through nontraditional settings, along with national- and community-level efforts to improve awareness of the importance of influenza vaccination in preventing illness, hospitalization, and death among racial and ethnic minority communities, might help address healthcare access barriers and improve vaccine confidence, leading to decreases in disparities in influenza vaccination coverage and disease severity,” stated the CDC in the report.
