In some ways COVID 19 has brought all together in our vulnerability, but in other ways it has again reflected our stark differences and the existence of institutional racism all around us. A new coalition “Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition” has brought together public health experts, civil rights, and social justice leaders to collectively address the racial inequalities that exist in the coronavirus distribution in Massachusetts. According to recent data from the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA), white residents had received 12 times more doses than Black residents and 16 times more doses than Latinx residents.
On Feb 17, 2021, “Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition” issued a press release with five demands to Gov. Charlie Baker to address these racial disparities, which included “directing $10 million to trusted community organizations for outreach and engagement in communities of color; immediately [implementing] the promised 20% additional doses for the most impacted communities; [setting] clear goals and [tracking] vaccine benchmarks that mirror the disproportionate impact on Black and Latinx residents; [improving] language access and cultural competence across all aspects of vaccine outreach and administration; [appointing] a vaccine czar with authority and accountability to address vaccine inequities.”
This local trend mirrors a troubling pattern nationally, which is only magnified when we consider that COVID-19 has already taken a disproportionate toll in sickness and death of Black and Latinx Americans. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), “As of February 16, 2021, among the group who received vaccinations in the nation, 63% were white, 9% were Hispanic, 6% were Black, 5% were Asian, 2% were American Indian or Alaska Native, and less than 1% were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, while nearly 14% reported multiple or other race.”
Across the nation, politicians and healthcare professionals have declared racism to be a public health crisis, and this is one measurable way we can see its impact. For centuries, based on vital figures like life expectancy, median income, rates of incarceration, and accumulation of generational wealth, the public health and social equality of minorities have greatly suffered.
Overlaid on top of a climate where there is police brutality and unconscious bias, wealthy Black Americans experience worse health outcomes than their white counterparts. If the virus has taught us anything, however, it is that we are all interconnected. Yet how can we move forward as a community if we can’t keep part of ourselves safe and vaccinated from disease?
On June 12, 2020, mayor Marty Walsh declared racism as a public health crisis in an executive order, and thus the Boston Public Health Commision (BPHC) released a request for information (RFI) to gain better understanding from residents and communities on their perspective and experiences toward racism.
According to the Boston Public Health Commision, “the purpose of the RFI was to hear back from Black Residents and other residents of color, immigrants, and residents living in priority neighborhoods (Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Mattapan and Roxbury). 197 residents answered the questions, and out of that group, 74% said racism impacts their health.
One of the respondents expressed frustration at the health care system and her experience with medical care which she attributed to racism, stating, “Often black women are not taken seriously at medical appointments. I almost died because of this.”
Another respondent said, “we need to be taken seriously when it comes to our health concerns. Not everyone is able to advocate for themselves so therefore more assistance is needed for patients who are having problems accessing the care that they need!”
Speaking about the current circumstance, state representative Liz Miranda of Dorchester and a sponsor of vaccine equity legislation agreed, saying, “In communities of color, mistrust of health institutions and vaccination is a problem.”
Executive Director of MPHA, Carlene Pavlos believes that “the only way Massachusetts and the nation will defeat COVID is to ensure the communities that have been hit the hardest have real access to vaccines.” She also warns that Governor Baker’s focus on efficiency is “coming at the expense of both fairness and sound science for how to stop the spread of infectious disease.”
On a national scope, an August 2020 poll taken by researchers at Harvard, Rutgers, Northeastern, and Northwestern Universities found that 52 % of Black respondents are likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 67 %of white people, 71 % of Latinos, and 77 %o f Asian Americans.
On February 24th 2021, the Baker-Polito administration issued $4.6 million to promote vaccination in 20 communities that are most severely impacted by COVID-19.
Mass.gov states that, “These efforts will specifically focus on communities of color, homebound seniors, disabled individuals and other hard-to-reach populations. Archipelago Strategies Group(ASG) and Health Care for All (HCFA) will provide hyperlocal, population-specific communication resources as well as hiring local residents and working with local organizations with cultural and linguistic competencies to reach disparately impacted populations in each priority municipality.” This initiative is a good first step in response to the coalition, but more steps need to be taken in order to determine whether the vaccine inequalities have been eliminated.
According to Mass.gov, “residents can now go to www.mass.gov/COVIDvaccine to find and schedule their appointments.” Given what we know about the racial inequalities of vaccine distribution, we can only begin to address the issue by taking action and encouraging our colleagues to do the same.
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