More vaccines are coming to state and local governments! Have you gotten yours yet?
My home state of Michigan is among those experiencing a coronavirus surge, but we just opened up vaccinations to anyone over 16 years old. (If you live in Michigan, you can schedule your vaccine appointment at https://www.michigan.gov/covidvaccine.)
And, if you live anywhere in the U.S. and haven’t already gotten vaccinated, you can check for vaccine availability nearest you at https://vaccinefinder.org/search. Most states are opening up vaccine eligibility to all residents aged 16 or older by Monday, April 19, and the vaccines are all no-cost.
I also want to bust a harmful myth about vaccines. You may have seen SNL’s racist and inaccurate skit making fun of Black communities and their (perceived) lack of willingness to get vaccinations.
Despite being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, Black people are getting vaccinated at half the rate of white people in the U.S. But this isn’t about who wants to get vaccinated or not. According to polls, Black people are actually more interested in getting the COVID-19 vaccine than other racial groups. In fact, the difference is largely along partisan lines—fewer conservatives plan to get vaccinated.
The primary reason behind the inequity in vaccination rates is actually inequitable access.
With a mostly-online signup process, people need internet access and the time to spend to schedule an appointment. Many vaccine sites are drive-through, which excludes people without cars, and Black Americans are more likely to live farther from vaccine centers than white Americans do. Black Americans are also disproportionately working in frontline essential positions, where employees may not have flexible schedules or the ability to take time off to get a vaccine. These are big structural barriers to access facing Black communities.
What last week’s SNL skit also failed to portray is the medical trauma that Black people carry after centuries of medical exploitation, mistreatment, and negligence.
Right now, Black Americans are three times more likely than white Americans to be hospitalized and twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than white Americans. This present moment is a clear example of how our healthcare system is failing Black people, who are also among the hardest-hit by the pandemic’s economic crisis.
Any mistrust of a system that’s left people behind is understandable. In fact, the vaccination disparities are a direct result of lack of investment in Black communities. And by shifting the blame onto Black communities, media creators like SNL are covering up the reality of this injustice.
Instead of accepting or exacerbating racial disparities in vaccine access, we must address them. I’m fighting for swift and smart vaccine distribution to the most vulnerable and hardest-hit communities, including my majority-Black district.
That means more programs like mobile vaccine sites to overcome transportation barriers and help people get vaccinated right in their own neighborhoods. We need to remove as many barriers to vaccine access as possible. Some local and state governments have begun partnering with trusted local organizations to develop distribution plans in Black communities and other marginalized communities—and more should follow this model.
If you haven’t signed or shared our petition about equitable vaccine access in the U.S. and Palestine, check it out here.
And I hope you and your loved ones stay safe and get vaccinated as soon as you can. And please, even if you’re already vaccinated, don’t forget to stay masked up around other people. Thank you for doing your part to keep our communities safe. We’ve got to have each other’s backs, especially during this crisis.
