For weeks, a coalition of local organizations and medical professionals have urged Governor Charlie Baker to prioritize the state’s minority and immigrant communities during COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Further slowing vaccination efforts, vaccine hesitancy stemming from historical health inequities persists among eligible seniors in those communities.

Two Chinese residents of the Brown Family House, who received the COVID-19 vaccine as part of Phase 1 of Massachusetts’ rollout plan, spoke to Sampan about the experience and why they overcame their vaccine hesitancy. The Harold and Ronald Brown Family House in Brookline is part of 2Life Communities, a senior housing provider in the greater Boston area. It was one of the first senior homes in the state to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to elderly residents. 

Lai Chin, 74, said that initially, she had concerns about vaccine safety and would have preferred to “wait it out” — a more prominent sentiment among minority groups. A state survey of around 300 residents of color found that 36 percent were unlikely to ever get vaccinated or would wait a long time before doing so. More people fell into this category than the 25 percent  of “early adopters,” who said they wanted the vaccine as soon as possible. 

“I really doubted. Well, they do it so fast, who knows the long-term effects? That’s what we were afraid of,” Chin said. She explained that over time, her fears slowly began to diminish after discussing with friends and listening to Dr. Fauci explain on T.V. how the vaccine uses mRNA, not a live virus.

Chin also said that hearing about state-wide shortages incentivized her to get the vaccine while she had the opportunity. CVS administered her the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Jan. 16, and the second dose on Feb. 6 right outside her door. One floor at a time, Brown Family House residents were instructed to place a chair in front of their doorway half an hour before their appointment. Then, CVS staff knocked on each door, instructing residents when they could come out to receive the shot. 

Residents were monitored for side effects 15 minutes after getting inoculated and received another check-in later that day, according to Chin. As for side effects, Chin was surprised she “did not feel anything,” not even the arm muscle soreness she experiences after the flu vaccine. The same procedures were used when administering the second dose. 

Another Brown Family House resident, Jeanette Moy, 64, expressed doubts about the vaccine at first too. “I didn’t really want to take the vaccine yet because there’s not enough data, and I wanted to wait until April.” Moy said that because she lives in an elderly housing complex and the virus’s severity, she agreed to for herd immunity reasons. “Because this is a virus, and it can kill you — that’s why I’m taking it. But normally, I don’t take other vaccines, like I don’t take the flu shot because when I take it, I get very sick for three weeks,” Moy added. 

Moy was fatigued for a few days following her first dose. After receiving the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, she said she experienced stronger flu-like symptoms, such as a migraine, dizziness, and slight fever. 

All Brown Family House residents were given a consent form beforehand and allowed to opt out. Approximately 90% of residents and all staff members chose to take the vaccine.

Workers and residents of congregate settings, including senior residential facilities, were considered a priority group within Phase One, according to the state’s vaccination plan. However, Brown Family House was able to complete their vaccination series sooner than other senior homes because residents were extremely active in calling and writing letters to Gov. Baker’s office, requesting for their prioritization. 

Chin said she felt fortunate to get the vaccine before her other relatives living in senior housing even received notifications. “They asked me, ‘When did you get it? How can I get it?,” Chin said. “At the same time, people are having difficulties making appointments on the computer. So that makes me say, ‘Oh I am lucky.’” 

Those in the current Phase 2 rollout have been plagued with barriers to getting vaccinated like limited doses and the state’s reportedly not user-friendly website. To address some of these concerns, the Baker administration announced a new call center for assisting residents 75 and older with scheduling vaccine appointments. The 211 hotline offers translation services in 100 languages.

 In Boston, language is not included on the form that needs to be completed for the Reggie Lewis registration. However, the city’s Age Strong Commission has tracked some data on the languages of people using the hotline to ensure adequate staffing of workers with various foreign language skills. 

 As of Feb. 16, the most requested language other than English was Spanish at 83 individuals, followed by Cantonese at 71 and Cape Verdean Creole at 51. There were also 12 calls in Mandarin and three in Taishanese. The dataset is incomplete and may not provide a full picture of the calls the Age Strong Commission has received.

“Based on the Age Strong’s experience, language barrier and technology tends to be issues for a lot of lower income older adults and those that do not speak English well or at all,” the mayor’s office said in an email. “That is why Age Strong has a team that people can call on the phone, use a language line, and also work through trusted community partners.”

The Age Strong Commission worked with local partners at the Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center, the Chinese Progressive Association, and Boston Senior Home Care to reach out to and navigate vaccine access for Boston’s Chinese seniors 75 and older. 

It has also scheduled onsite vaccine clinics for several senior-living buildings in the city. Moreover, Boston residents age 75 and older can request assistance with vaccine enrollment by calling 311 and asking for the Age Strong Commission, or by calling the State at 211. Literature regarding vaccinations has also been proliferated by the Department of Public Health in a variety of languages, including Chinese, Councilor Ed Flynn told Sampan in a statement.

Still, Moy points to another potential barrier for those not living in senior homes: the lack of vaccine sites near Chinatown, a problem plaguing many other Boston neighborhoods and towns across the state. Currently, the closest mass vaccination site is the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury. “Are they going to have a site for Asian people to get the vaccine someplace nearby?,” Moy asked. “Some places are hard for them to go to because some don’t have transportation.”

Moy said the vaccine has not changed her life much, and she still takes precautionary mask-wearing measures. She believes we will only start to see some return to normalcy once “80% of Americans get the vaccine, but some are still reluctant to take it.” For Chin, although receiving the COVID-19 vaccine has not made a substantial difference, “it does make me feel more secure.” 

To read this article in Chinese (Traditional), please click here.