The District has administered more than 62,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to D.C. health officials.
But thousands of people who are eligible are unable to receive them.
Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday that child care workers, teachers and staff at private schools, and members of the homeless population are now eligible and can begin making their appointments.
Employees in grocery stores, who are supposed to be eligible in the current phase, will have to keep waiting.
“I hear and fully understand how frustrating it must be to go online and have appointments go away or be gone completely in 20 minutes,” said Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, D.C.'s health director.
“It is also equally frustrating to be the health director of the city and only get 10% or less every week of what you really need,” Nesbitt said.
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The District released preliminary data Monday showing the gaps in who has been getting the shots, but the data is incomplete.
More than 17,500 whites have received the vaccine compared to fewer than 10,000 African Americans. More than 25,000 people also listed their race as other, DC Health reports.
Reports also show that only 1,600 people classified as Hispanic have received the vaccine, compared to more than 25,000 people who identified as non-Hispanic. Almost 36,000 people listed their ethnicity as unknown.
District leaders say the third-party providers who are administering the shots are not fully reporting the data and they will continue to prioritize those living in zip codes where higher numbers of minorities live.
