It's particularly important that people who are most vulnerable, including Black Americans, get the vaccine. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black Americans are dying at nearly three times the rate of white, non-Hispanic people and being hospitalized at nearly four times the rate. Working to overcome a history of racial discrimination and mistreatment But getting the vaccine first requires the Black community to trust that it's safe and effective, Fauci and other speakers said. Black adults have shown more hesitancy about COVID-19 vaccines than white or Hispanic people. Polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation in early December found that about 35% of Black people said they probably or definitely wouldn't get a COVID-19 shot, compared with about a quarter of people who identified as Hispanic or as white.