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# Study Finds Lack of Minority Groups in Vaccine Trials
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/study-finds-lack-of-minority-groups-in-vaccine-trials/
- Published: 2021-02-22T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T16:47:54.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Biologics, #legacy-id-D5148710

A new study has found that racial/ethnic minority groups and older adults are underrepresented in U.S.-based vaccine clinical trials. “These findings suggest that diversity enrollment targets should be included for all vaccine trials targeting epidemiologically important infections,” according to the study, which was published in the [2/19 *JAMA Network Open*](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2776562?utm%5Fcampaign=articlePDF&utm%5Fmedium=articlePDFlink&utm%5Fsource=articlePDF&utm%5Fcontent=jamanetworkopen.2020.37640).

The study examined 230 U.S.-based trials involving almost 220,000 participants. “Every trial reported age and sex; 134 (58.3%) reported race and 79 (34.3%) reported ethnicity,” it found. “Overall, among adult study participants, white individuals were overrepresented (77.9%; 95% CI, 77.4%-78.4%), and Black or African American individuals (10.6%; 95% CI, 10.2%-11.0%) and American Indian or Alaska Native individuals (0.4%; 95% CI, 0.3%-0.5%) were underrepresented compared with U.S. census data; enrollment of Asian individuals was similar (5.7%; 95% CI, 5.5%-6.0%). Enrollment of Hispanic or Latino individuals (11.6%; 95% CI, 11.1%-12.0%) was also low even among the limited number of adult trials reporting ethnicity.”

The study said that it is important to improve trial racial/ethnic diversity because enrollment may be associated with vaccination rates in minority groups. “Efforts to improve inclusion may help to address vaccine hesitancy, provide education, and counter safety concerns about vaccines by ensuring equitable representation in definitive clinical trials,” it said. Additionally, the study recommended that future studies are needed to assess whether access to and enrollment in clinical trials will lead to improved vaccination rates in these populations because not all policy changes help improve rates.