A new SHADAC issue brief found stark disparities not only in the share of subpopulations that have been immunized against COVID-19 in Minnesota, but also in the length of time it took vaccines to reach most people in these different groups.

For instance, by the end of 2022, 80 percent of Asian and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander people in Minnesota were vaccinated against COVID-19, but only 53 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native people in the state were vaccinated.

The study also found wider and more obvious disparities among younger segments of Minnesota’s population. For instance, half of the elderly population (age 65+) in all racial and ethnic groups were vaccinated within similar time frames of just three or four months. However, among young adults age 19-24, Minnesota was able to vaccinate half of Asian and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander young adults within five months but took roughly twice as long to reach half of Latino young adults (nine months), White young adults (ten months), and Black young adults (eleven months). And, shockingly, Minnesota had failed to reach half of American Indian and Alaska Native young adults by the end of 2022—almost two years after vaccines were first authorized.

The analysis also looked at vaccination data by categories of geography and sex, and for children separately, as vaccines for their age group were developed and authorized later than for adults. All data used in SHADAC’s analysis were provided through a collaboration with the Minnesota Electronic Health Record Consortium, a partnership of state health systems and public health agencies aimed at providing comprehensive and timely data to better inform policy.

Click on the image above to read the full brief.