On April 19, the City of Boston will be moving into Phase 3 of the coronavirus vaccine distribution, meaning that individuals 16 years of age and older will be eligible. According to Health and Human Services Chief Marty Martinez, Asian Americans in Boston are getting vaccinated at a similar rate as white residents, and with the new phase approaching, he said that he is hopeful there will be strong vaccination turnout from this population.
“For people of color across the country, [they] have been less likely to get vaccinated. Actually, in the City of Boston, Asian Americans are getting vaccinated at pretty much the same rate as white Bostonians,” said Martinez. “…We also see our Asian seniors are getting vaccinated at a comparable rate as our white seniors. That’s because of the really important work of community groups and community organizations, whether it’s in the Chinese community in Chinatown or the Vietnamese community in Dorchester. It’s been important to see these community nonprofit organizations do a bunch of work to engage their residents and work with the City to be able to do that.”
According to Gabriela Andujar Vazquez, an infectious disease physician and associate hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, Asian Americans do face barriers to getting vaccinated. Language barriers may be a challenge, and to address this problem, Tufts has partnered with the City of Boston to create a voucher program. The City is distributing about a hundred vouchers per day to the Chinatown community, and the vouchers can be used to set up an appointment, without having to call a phone number or schedule online. It has a date when they can come to their appointment, and individuals can show up at the Marriott Hotel, where a clinic is located. Frequently asked questions and directions are provided, and the voucher offers translations in Cantonese and Mandarin.
“Even if you’re good with computers, getting an appointment can be challenging,” said Andujar Vazquez. “We’re certainly seeing an increase in the supply. …But certainly, I think the Asian American community has a lot of different barriers, not only language, but access and information. There are definitely different factors that are contributing, for vaccine equity. Around here [in Chinatown], the age may be a factor, in terms of mobility. We have 80 year olds who may not be able to walk to the Marriott clinic, even if it’s two blocks away. Age is an important factor; [there may be] medical problems that make it difficult to get to the vaccine clinic. Language is always one: when you’re not English speaking, it’s just by default a barrier.”
Tufts is also creating rotating mobile clinics in the Chinatown neighborhood. They have already held one in Tai Tung Village and will be collaborating with business owners, with the intention of helping restaurant workers. Through these clinics, Tufts is hoping to do about 200 vaccines a day, said Andujar Vazquez. The idea behind this method is that the service will be coming to the people who need it, rather than the other way around.
“Wherever there’s a need, we can work out the logistics of coming to the community,” said Andujar Vazquez.
There will certainly be vaccine hesitancy among undocumented immigrants, who may worry that they will have to disclose information, according to Paul Watanabe, director of the Institute for Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston and a member of the City’s COVID-19 Health Inequities Task Force. Watanabe said that they should know that they are not required to disclose their immigration status at vaccination sites. Martinez added that because of the uptick in hate crimes against Asian Americans, he said that he is worried that this population may be reluctant to go out to a vaccination site.
“I am concerned that that would add an additional barrier for Asian Bostonians to get vaccinated,” said Martinez.
Watanabe said that he hopes that there will be less reluctance among communities of color to take the vaccine, and outreach will play an important role in creating this change. The Task Force continues to work with local organizations, many of which are in Chinatown and Fields Corner, and the partnerships with these trusted groups has been helpful in overcoming hesitancy.
“They help to assure their communities that the vaccines are safe and necessary, and at the same time, they push the City to make sure those vaccines are made available to those communities,” said Watanabe. “I think it can be an effective working relationship.” He added, “[The Task Force] is making sure that if there is a paucity in testing in the Chinatown area, ideas have been put forward, for example, to see that sites are opened up–even pop up sites, within Chinatown, are made available.”
