Mass lawmaker says vaccine rollout is classic case of ‘structural racism’

For some Massachusetts residents, the struggle to score one of the limited number of COVID-19 vaccine appointments in the state can feel like a lottery. And with around a million Bay Staters eligible to be vaccinated but only 130,000 first doses arriving each week in Massachusetts, the chances of entering a time slot on the troubled website may indeed seem slim.

For some, thinner than others.

State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz says the process is less like the lottery and more like a raffle, “where each additional benefit buys you another ticket in the raffle.”

“Life expectancy over 75 years? Ticket, ”Chang-Diaz said Thursday during a State House hearing on Governor Charlie Baker’s vaccine rollout, referring to the first group to become eligible for the vaccine this month.

“Do you know where to find information on registering for the vaccine? Ticket, ”continued the Boston Democrat. “A reliable Internet connection? Ticket. Time to sit on the website for hours clicking to find availability? Ticket, ticket, ticket, ticket. “

English proficiency? Have a car and a driving license? Work flexibility to take an older companion to take their photo? Chang-Diaz says all are worth extra tickets, especially as the state moves vaccine supplies to mass vaccination sites, for which new appointments are posted online – and quickly booked – every Thursday. morning.

White residents more likely to live past age 75, more likely to be digitally literate, more likely to be fluent in English, more likely to own a car, and more likely to have flexibility in their jobs Chang-Diaz says it’s clear who is enjoying these benefits in vaccine deployment in the state.

“You couldn’t find a more classic structural racism case study if you tried,” she says. “Eight months after George Floyd, nine months after watching COVID tear Chelsea, Dorchester and East Boston apart like they were foreign countries… when are we going to learn this lesson?”

According to U.S. Census data, black residents make up 9% of Massachusetts’ population, while Hispanics make up 12%. However, according to the state’s Weekly Vaccine Report, 5.1% of first-dose injections administered in Massachusetts went to black residents and only 4.3% to Hispanic residents.

“When you count all the tickets I just mentioned, the results of this deployment are not surprising,” Chang-Diaz said Thursday. “Black, Latinx and low-income Bay Staters – those most likely to be infected with the coronavirus – are the least likely to have received a vaccine. It was an entirely predictable – and, in fact, predicted problem. “

Baker argued that the rollout of the vaccine in the state had started with a “very fair framed process” that prioritized health care workers, residents and nursing home staff and, unlike the Most other states, to collective care facilities such as prisons and homeless shelters during phase 1. At the hearing, the governor noted that many members of these groups are people of color and a alludes to the fact that vaccine reluctance is higher in the black community due to the legacy of medical racism.

“We wanted everyone, including those who are reluctant to get vaccinated, to have several chances of deciding to get vaccinated,” he said. “We have also given the hospital community more time to engage and encourage their staff to get vaccinated for the same reason. It took longer, but in many cases it made a positive difference. “

While data suggests people of color in Massachusetts haven’t received a proportional share of vaccine doses, Baker said the state is doing better than its peers.

“We are second in the country for the percentage of our black residents who have been vaccinated and are several points above the national average for our Hispanic population as well,” the governor said.

“We know we still have a lot of work to do here,” he added.

Amid the move to larger vaccination sites as vaccine eligibility increases, the Baker administration has launched an outreach program in the 20 hardest-hit towns and villages in the state, and has also exempted those communities of the decision to stop sending doses to local health services. Boards of Directors (although officials have backed down some doses) Earlier this week, Baker announced that the state would inject $ 4.7 million into the fairness awareness program.

Still, he was faced with questions on Thursday about how the state was balancing the focus on the state’s seven high-efficiency mass vaccination sites with the need to continue to ensure equitable vaccine allocation.

Baker said state support for the outreach program focused on hard-hit communities would be “the most important” aspect, creating a “boots on the ground” campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated and help them. to understand how. He also asked for help from local authorities to identify hard-to-reach populations.

“I don’t think anyone can do it with just one answer,” Baker said. “I think at the end of the day there will be a variety of approaches that will ultimately be how you try to cover the playing field.”

Baker has repeatedly pointed out that deployment is limited by limited supply; While the state receives weekly requests for about 450,000 first-dose injections from vaccine suppliers, they only receive about 139,000 per week through the federal government.

Chang-Diaz called for appointment of director of vaccine equity and mobile immunization program to more aggressively close the racial immunization gap, in addition to a registration process more streamlined.

Baker, however, believes that the planned increase in dose supply in the coming months will solve many of the state’s problems.

“This will allow a lot more people to get vaccinated,” he said. “It will also allow us to put more vaccines in the hands of the many people who are currently in a position to help us do more.”