Well, I have an appointment to get vaccinated next week. It came about in an unusual, and in my opinion unfortunate, way.

Pre-Covid, I would sometimes have to appear in court. When Covid struck, these court appearances became virtual over zoom. When the vaccines became available, court personnel and front line responders became priority. Now the judge and court personnel, as well as the people from the police agency in question, are all vaccinated.

My employer has not placed my colleagues and me on the priority list to be vaccinated. This is because we can appear in court virtually, thereby saving the vaccine for others in government who cannot do their jobs remotely.

Well, the judge now prefers that counsel appear in person again. When we advised him that we were not vaccinated and did not wish to appear in person, he said he could place us on the priority list to be vaccinated.

This creates problems for me. First, I do not feel it is ethical for me to take advantage of the opportunity to be vaccinated as a first responder when I am not. Second, Maryland has had serious vaccine equity problems, and poor black people (who are at greater risk from Covid) in particular are getting squeezed out by white and/or affluent people; I do not wish to contribute to that inequity. Third, I would prefer to take the vaccine when I want to take it, meaning I want to time it to be effective this summer, so getting it now means I will be traveling this summer with no idea whether the vaccine efficacy has diminished. Fourth, if I take the vaccine next week, I will have to appear in court before my next dose and will therefore be taking a risk of getting Covid compared to appearing by Zoom.

I think it would create problems for me on my job and with the judge if I declined the vaccine. So I will get the vaccine now and hope like hell it remains effective through the summer. Somehow, none of this seems fair to me.

Ugh, I'm sorry Cindy.

I don't have anything helpful to say, but I am sorry you aren't in a position to choose or to do it on a timeline of your choosing.

quote:

poor black people (who are at greater risk from Covid) in particular are getting squeezed out by white and/or affluent people

Squeezed out? Really?

Most places I've read about where blacks are under-vaccinated it's demand driven, i.e. they're more likely to not trust the vaccine or at least to be hesitant about it. Cuomo has gone as far as limiting which zipcodes can reserve at certain centers but had to abandon the approach because too many slots were going unused.


Of course there are poor older people who have trouble navigating the reservation systems, but still low demand is the main driver. At least in the places I've read about.

I just deleted an angry diatribe. It’s not appropriate. Please Cindy, you be you.

Let’s just say I sincerely hope you get vaccinated.

quote:

Originally posted by jon-nyc:

quote:

poor black people (who are at greater risk from Covid) in particular are getting squeezed out by white and/or affluent people

Squeezed out? Really?

Most places I've read about where blacks are under-vaccinated it's demand driven, i.e. they're more likely to not trust the vaccine or at least to be hesitant about it. Cuomo has gone as far as limiting which zipcodes can reserve at certain centers but had to abandon the approach because too many slots were going unused.


Of course there are poor older people who have trouble navigating the reservation systems, but still low demand is the main driver. At least in the places I've read about.

Yes. Squeezed out, really.

It is a myth that blacks here do not want to be vaccinated.

People I know who are well off are gaming the system, using connections to skip the line. DC had to stop non residents from the suburbs from coming in to get vaccinated.

The rollout in Maryland has been terrible. Were it not for this “opportunity “, I would be nowhere close to being eligible given my age and lack of risk factors. I was ok with that.

So it sucks to be doing what my selfish friends are doing — skipping the line and contributing to the inequities.

Talk about this please.

I must have missed something.

Pardon?

Lost a post. Maybe got deleted.

But while you’re here, how might your position change when presented with the latest news reporting that there is now more vaccine available than those who want it?

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
But while you’re here, how might your position change when presented with the latest news reporting that there is now more vaccine available than those who want it?

This is something I don’t understand. Is it different from one state to another? Or, is there “left over” vaccine that’s not getting used because the appts. are only allowing people in certain groups to sign up, and not everyone in those groups is signing up?

We really want Mr. SK to get his vaccine, but he’s not eligible right now according to the eligibility guidelines.

Steve there isn’t more vaccine *now* than people who want it. Just procured. My best guess is that some time in May much of the country will have sufficient vaccines such that anyone who wants one could get one immediately, either as a walk in or same day appointment.

Here is a 538 explanation of what blacks are getting vaccinated at lower rates.

It is NOT because they don’t want it.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/fe...o-its-not-hesitancy/

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
But while you’re here, how might your position change when presented with the latest news reporting that there is now more vaccine available than those who want it?

There are still scarcity issues, as others have said.

But as the 538 article says, blacks work in jobs where it is hard to get time off. And there were some insane policies that favored affluent people.

Like, one way to get a vaccine is to hang around a distribution site and see if a dose becomes available. Our local CVS was giving those doses to the people waiting instead of CVS employees. They recently changed that policy, and I learned about this from an affluent, white friend who lost out on the last shot to an employee.

I just saw this on Twitter and it seemed pertinent to the conversation.

"There is little difference between white and Black Americans on reluctance to take the coronavirus vaccine, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds.

73% of Black people and 70% of white people say they plan to get the vaccine or have done so already."

quote:

It is a myth that blacks here do not want to be vaccinated.

Cindy, did you bother to actually look at the Pew survey, or stop with the 538 article with a satisfying burst of confirmation bias ...

Blacks STILL bring up the rear in willingness to get the vaccine, well behind Whites and Hispanics and shockingly behind Asians. If you look at suburban whites (excluding rural red White America) I'm sure the willingness gap is immense.

Isn't it just possible that two things can be true simultaneously? Blacks face some distributional issues that get in the way of easy vaccination (work related, as you noted). But they also may be disproportionately less willing to bare the arm.


It's certainly true in my immediate circumstances. In my wife's office every white and hispanic employee quickly got the shot in the first round. Every black employee but the boss, who negotiated to get the shots, initially refused the vaccination when it was made available. Anecdotal, of course, but supported by the Pew data.