British newspaper unveils COVID-19 vaccine inequality among US kids

LONDON -- A major British newspaper has revealed inequality of access among US kids for coronavirus vaccines which have been rolled out to this group.

More than 360,000 children under the age of 12 have already received their first shot, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Jorge Caballero, a board-certified anesthesiologist and co-founder of volunteer group Coders Against Covid, has found that white neighborhoods have twice as many vaccination sites as other neighborhoods, The Guardian newspaper reported Wednesday.

Within those neighborhoods, the sites tend to cluster in more affluent areas in "another round of prioritization for predominantly white neighborhoods," he told The Guardian.

Interest in the vaccine is roughly equal across racial and ethnic groups, but access seems to be more limited, he said.

Caballero is concerned about equal access to vaccine for children and is calling for transparent data on race and ethnicity among children's vaccinations from the CDC, according to The Guardian.

These inequities mirror previous disparities around testing and adult vaccinations, he said.

"We continue to repeat the same mistakes over and over and over again. We're just not being proactive enough in terms of addressing the gaps," he was quoted as saying.

"All we're striving for is just equity," Caballero added.

For several months, children have accounted for one-quarter of new cases in the United States despite the availability of vaccines for those aged 12 and up, according to the British newspaper.