In many cases, according to dr. Marina Del Rios, in emergencies, it actually comes down to questions about logistics and access.
“Most people are willing to be vaccinated,” Dr. Del Rios told CNN, but “they have more questions about ‘where can I get the vaccine, when is it my turn, is it going to cost me money?’ “
Nationwide, Spanish or Latino residents have contracted Covid-19 with nearly twice the number of white people and have been hospitalized more than four times more than white people, according to recent data from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And just under 12% of those vaccinated in the first month of vaccination were Hispanic or Latino.
The city has made efforts to make the vaccine more readily available. Unlike many large metro areas, Chicago allows drugstores like Walgreens to vaccinate those who are eligible, as well as smaller local pharmacies in the area.
Distribution sites are nevertheless aggregated in the whiter areas of the city and are very zealous in the south and west sides of the city, where most of the inhabitants are black or Hispanic. Black and Hispanic Chicago residents collectively received 38% of the first doses of the vaccine, while White residents received nearly 50%, according to a CNN analysis.
Dr. Del Rios, who works at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago, compares the distribution process of vaccinations to ‘playing the Hunger Games’.
“If you have not yet been linked to a medical home, which is a reality for many Latinos who are not documented or uninsured, then your chances of being vaccinated soon are slim.”
What are the obstacles?
Fahida Martinez has lived and worked in Little Village, Chicago for many years. As someone whose work focuses primarily on community outreach, it was not ideal to work from home during the pandemic. She lands more than ever before by phone and on Zoom with members of the community.
Martinez recently received her first dose of the vaccine, saying she felt privileged to be among the first.
Work schedules could create roadblocks for many people who want the vaccine, she told CNN.
More appointments in the morning, at night and throughout the weekend will give people more chances to get the vaccine, Martinez said.
“For example, I want the clinics, or places where they give the vaccine, to have hours … a lot in the morning, just like in the evening, to give people the opportunity,” she said. ‘Even Saturdays and Sundays when people do not have to leave their working day.
As the rollout continues, vaccine distribution should have flexible hours, experts say.
Katya Nuques, executive director of Enlace Chicago, a community organization, said 44% of Little Village residents are uninsured and an estimated 25% are undocumented.
Enlace focuses on education, violence prevention, immigration and health, and all are related to Covid-19, she says.
“You basically have to do two things at once. One is to educate a community,” she told CNN. “On the other hand, you have to provide the availability and provide the vaccine, and the two things are not related.”
Rios, the doctor said: “if you have not yet been linked to a medical home, which is a reality for many Latinos who are not documented or uninsured, then your chances of being vaccinated soon are slim.
As a front worker, Dr. Del Rios was one of the first to receive the vaccine, and the first in Chicago.
‘Why not show my own community’ hey, I’m in order to be vaccinated, I know the data and can tell you what side effects you can expect, ‘she said.
How to make sure ‘everyone gets it’
Hospitals, for example, must ensure that their entire staff, including the food and maintenance staff, receive all correspondence regarding the notification to receive the vaccine, Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said.
According to Kaiser, black, Latino and Asian Americans are 41% of health workers, while 59% are white. And the majority of workers in long-term health care institutions, 52%, are colored.
Benjamin said the vaccine should also be administered outside of traditional hours so that people who work by the hour do not have to start work. Communities say he should consider a plan to transport poor families without vehicles to health facilities to get the vaccine.
“You have to say, ‘I want to make sure everyone gets it,'” Benjamin said. “We need to make sure we think about all the ways people can concede (to be vaccinated) and we need to make sure we have vaccination available when they call.”
Some researchers have said it is worrying to have differences so early in the process when most of the people being vaccinated are health workers.
Dr Fola May, a health equity researcher at the UCLA Kaiser Permanent Center for Health Equality, said she expects health professionals to be the most informed and least hesitant about science.
May fears this could be an indication of larger racial gaps when the vaccine is widely available.
“I think we’ve done it,” May said. “If we see it in this population that should have the least prejudice against science, we will have even fewer people who have the right information and access, if we look at the larger populations.”
CNN’s Nicquel Terry Ellis and Priya Krishnakumar contributed to this report.