Native-American Tribes Pull Ahead in Covid-19 Vaccinations – The Wall Street Journal

When Vanessa Begaye heard in late January that clinics on the Indian reservation where she lives in Arizona were offering Covid-19 vaccinations to all adults, she rushed to get in line for her shot.

The 24-year-old is a college student, mother of two and a member of the Navajo Nation. Her grandfather, a diabetic in his 60s, died in July after he contracted the coronavirus and was put on a respirator.

Pretty much the whole Navajo Nation wanted to get the vaccine as soon as it came out, Ms. Begaye said. We all felt it was the right thing to do, to protect our families, especially our elders. Almost everyone I know has lost someone, and we all just want this pandemic to be over.

In Apache County, Ariz., where Ms. Begaye lives, about two-thirds of which is covered by the Navajo, Fort Apache and Zuni Indian reservations, 42% of the population is fully vaccinated, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. In Glacier County, Mont., home of the Blackfeet Nation, 46.7% of the population is vaccinated. In Blaine County, Mont., where one-third of the population lives on the Fort Belknap Reservation, it is 45.9%.

Overall, 34.5% of the U.S. population has received at least one vaccine shot, according to the CDC.

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Native-American Tribes Pull Ahead in Covid-19 Vaccinations - The Wall Street Journal