On Wednesday, state leaders said they were working to close the data gap shown in COVID-19 vaccine race data released the day prior.
Of the nearly 1.3 million people vaccinated as of Monday, race data had only been collected for 56% of them due to issues with the state's immunization registry.
The data also showed that 3.7% of people vaccinated were Black, despite making up about 14% of the state's population.
"Upon seeing the initial data that was reported. It's clear, we need to continue our efforts to get more communities of color vaccinated, and close the gap in the data that is being reported," said Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released the incomplete data on Tuesday afternoon.
"We did not wait for the data to be perfect because we're committed to showing our work," Gilchrist said during a press conference Wednesday.
COVID-19 vaccine data by race as of Feb. 22:
- 43.7% are unknown.
- 41.7% are white.
- 9.5% are listed as other.
- 3.7% are Black.
- 1.1% are Asian or Pacific Islander.
- 0.3% are American Indian/Alaskan Native
The Michigan Care Improvement Registry, or MCIR, consolidates immunization records for children and adults in one place, so it's been used for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, as well. But prior to this, race and ethnicity were not included in the registry, so MDHHS staff added it before the rollout.
But until recently, the registry lacked a way to manually enter that information, which was necessary for staff to be able to do at a number of clinics. The state has since added a tool to do that and is also working to complete the data it does have, MDHHS said.
"We have to address that data problem, so that we can understand the shape of this problem," Gilchrist said.
"We also encourage every Michigander to fill out the race section of the forms that they complete when they're signing up. This will also help us close the data gap."
Gilchrist said having this data is critical to equitable vaccine distribution.
"This data is a starting point. However, I do caution against drawing premature conclusions," he said. "We don't yet have the full picture. And as a former software developer. I know that you can't just flip a switch and make a system happen. But that is why it's taking time to get it right. But we will get this right."
Ethnicity data is not yet being reported by the state, as it was only included in about 30% of records so far. MDHHS says it is working on fixing this, as well.
The state also said the percentage of Black people receiving the vaccine has tripled in the last week.
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said Wednesday that 41% of people ages 75 and older had received their first dose. The state's goal is to vaccinate 70% of the population ages 16 and older as soon as possible.
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