'It's not a pretty picture': Why the lack of racial data around COVID vaccines is 'massive barrier' to better distribution Nada Hassanein, USA TODAY Replay Video After her longtime friend died of COVID-19, Abigail Echo-Hawk sat in her chair crying. She wondered if her friend and mentor, a Native American like her, would be counted among the deaths – a worry that only added to her grief. “I couldn’t help this thought that ran through my head: Is his story going to be present in the data? Or did we lose him even there?” she said of the tribal leader in his mid-50s.