Inequities in Vaccine Access
Even as we get a third vaccine authorized by the FDA, fair access to vaccines continues to be an issue.
In all societies, we learn to queue up for all kinds of things from a very young age. If you need to leave the queue for a moment, you can usually tell the person in front or behind you to hold your spot — more often than not they will agree. You can usually estimate how long it will take to get to the front and get whatever it is you queued up for, based on the speed at which the queue moves. It’s all really very straightforward, even if sometimes tiresome. Being in plain sight, it’s not easy for people to randomly join the queue without some degree of public shaming. For the most part, everyone is equal in a physical queue.
Not so for the COVID-19 vaccine queue.
In light of vaccine hesitancy, and the continuing spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the process to get a vaccine should be as smooth as possible — making it difficult only reduces the number of willing and eager vaccine recipients. I know of people who have given up trying to get the COVID-19 vaccine, only because the process of getting an appointment is emotionally and temporally challenging and exhausting. The hurdles quickly begin to feel insurmountable.
