WILMINGTON — State officials announced an expansion of Delaware’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan on Tuesday, with a focus on vaccinations in underserved, minority communities.

The announcement came as Gov. John Carney revealed the state has been told by the federal government its vaccine allotment will increase by 22% for the next three weeks. Delaware currently receives between 15,000 and 20,000 doses of vaccine per week from the federal government so the 22% increase could take it over 20,000 a week.

Efforts by the state to increase diversity are highlighted by the Community Health Services unit at the Delaware Division of Public Health partnering with the Wilmington Housing Authority this week to vaccinate those 65 years or older in senior high-rises as part of a larger effort to reach seniors who don’t have access to technology or who face mobility challenges. The state is also giving enrolled pharmacies an allocation of 4,000 doses this week, with a focus on pharmacies in underserved communities.

As of Monday at 11:59 p.m., only 5% of the total vaccine doses administered had been to Blacks while 2% have been Latino. The Non-Hispanic White demographic has received 39% of doses so far and there are some data problems as 30% are unreported.

Dr. Karyl Rattay, the DPH’s director, called those data issues “unacceptable” although it is lower than the national average of 50%. Dr. Rattay said she wants to drive that number down quickly while raising the state’s vaccine diversity.

“We are very concerned we are not reaching all Delawareans in an equitable way at this point,” Dr. Rattay said. “These numbers are not OK with us and are driving us to make some significant changes in how we are reaching undeserved populations.”

The data of Delaware’s vaccine waiting list for seniors reflects a similar lack of diversity. Dr. Rattay said of those on the waiting list, 7.6% are Black and 1.6% are Latino. Individuals can register for the waiting list at vaccinerequest.delaware.gov.

Gov. Carney said the state is creating partnerships within communities, such as churches, in an attempt to increase those numbers. It has toolkits regarding the vaccine, in English and Spanish, and is delivering these materials door-to-door.

“This is much like we did with testing,” Gov. Carney said. “And our testing rates in those communities rose significantly when we did that partnering.”

The state is reporting 107,597 doses of vaccine administered on its vaccine tracker, using information in the state’s immunization system DelVAX as of Monday at 11:59 p.m. About 10% of Delaware’s total population has received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Gov. Carney said Tuesday that first responders, part of Phase 1A, who still need a second dose of the vaccination can receive them at six scheduled events, starting today and going to Feb. 18. One such event was held in Dover on Monday, hosted by one of the state’s testing partners, Curative Inc.

Curative is vaccinating about 2,000 individuals at indoor events from Tuesday through Friday in Dover. These events are by appointment only and all appointments have already been filled from seniors on the waiting list. Vault Health, another testing partner which is now assisting with vaccinations, will resume its vaccinations in Wilmington next week.

Hospitals will receive about 4,000 doses this week to administer to seniors, as well as their own Phase 1A health care workers, the DPH said. Health care systems have also been asked to coordinate with underserved communities and faith-based communities to vaccinate vulnerable seniors.

Delaware has 13,253 doses remaining in its inventory, according to the vaccine tracker. However a new shipment is coming in early in the week.

“We have a distribution network right now that can get rid of vaccine faster than we can get it in,” said Delaware Emergency Management Agency Director A.J. Schall.

“We’ve come a long way with a lot of learning,” Gov. Carney said about the state’s distribution plan. “We had some missteps. That was my responsibility. I was pushing hard, wanted to get those vaccines out and I’ll take responsibility for those folks who had to wait too long in line. But we’re getting better at it and we have a network that’s ready to deliver vaccinations once we get the supply from the federal government.”

“All we need is supply,” Gov. Carney said.

“We get supply, we’ll get vaccines into people’s arms. We get vaccines into peoples’ arms, we’ll get healthier, we’ll get safer and we’ll get back to where we can have people circulating and more business activity.”

Along with the 22% promised increase, the state is hopeful its supply can increase when the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose, unlike the two current vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer, which require two doses, three or four weeks apart.

“We hope it’s just around the corner,” Dr. Rattay said. “It’s a very effective vaccine, very few side effects, extremely well tolerated and very importantly, it’s only one dose which is easy.”

“We see a brightening light at the end of the tunnel,” Gov. Carney said. “It’s going to get brighter and brighter with every day and every week with every vaccine that we get into an arm.”