California among worst states in getting vaccines to vulnerable populations: CDC report

California among worst in getting vaccines to vulnerable populations, CDC report finds A CDC report found most of California's vaccines have gone to residents who don't face as many vulnerability factors such as race, education, poverty level and housing, ABC News ABC News

About a quarter of California's population has received one shot of the coronavirus vaccine so far, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, most of the shots so far appear to have gone to populations that are less vulnerable than others.

State health officials say they are working to improve those numbers.

The CDC issued a report last week that measured county's vaccine rollouts with regards to "social vulnerability." The vulnerability index included several factors including race, education, poverty level and housing, which the agency noted has also been linked to higher coronavirus rates.

"The results of this study indicate that COVID-19 vaccination coverage was lower in high vulnerability counties than in low vulnerability counties, a finding largely driven by socioeconomic disparities," the report said.

The report examined roughly 49 million shots distributed between Dec. 14 and March 1. Of the 48 states surveyed in the report, California ranked 44th when it came to vaccinations among residents in the highest socially vulnerable counties. About one in four shots went to those counties, the CDC said.

The states that ranked below California in vaccine distribution in the most vulnerable counties were Kansas, Maryland, Idaho and New Hampshire. ...