PHOENIX – Earlier this week, the Maricopa County Department of Health launched the COVID-19 vaccine panel and provided insight into who gets the vaccine and who does not.
“Thank you Maricopa County, because that’s all you can see,” former state health director Will Humble said Friday afternoon after Dr. Christ, the current health director, held a press conference and said that the inequality was due to the specific professional person. belonging to group 1A.
‘It just shows you that State Farm’s priority is because of the optics and image they’ve created out there. and this is at the expense of low-income communities, because you can see that the daily allocations in favor of State Farm are above these low-income communities, ”Humble added.
From Humble to Tomas Leon of the Equality Health Foundation to ABC15’s Data Guru Garrett Archer, they all agree that the data offered by the country shows that those with richer zip codes are being vaccinated at higher rates.
‘Dis [the vaccine] does not reach the people most affected by the virus. These are people of color, the Spanish, African-American community has been devastated by COVID-19, ”says Tomas Leon of the Equality Health Foundation.
One clear example of the differences between zip codes in Maricopa County is 85009. Phoenix- has the lowest vaccination rate in Maricopa County.
Garrett Archer says: ‘85009 has the lowest vaccination rate in Maricopa County. This zip code also happens to have a 90% minority in the zip code, ‘says Garrett Archer, ABC15 data analyst.
The state health department tried to level the playing field and told ABC15 that from March they would open ‘micro pods (points of dispensation)’ in postcodes with low vaccination rates such as Maryvale and South Phoenix. Dr Christ also told a group of reporters that they are getting transport for those who need to come to a COVID-19 vaccine appointment.
‘You have to meet people where they are. That is what this model is about, it takes the vaccines in the community to the people hardest hit by this pandemic, ”Leon added.
The vaccine most likely to be administered at the ‘micropeules’ is the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which requires only one dose compared to both Pfizer and Moderna, which require a shot. From Monday, the registration portal will also be presented in Spanish.
The former boss of Dr. Christ, Will Humble, who criticizes the online registration system, says that it is a ‘Darwinist gold rush system’, should be changed to a random choice, so that it compares the opportunity, regardless of the person’s job or ability to a good broadband internet system.
“We know that the appointments website benefits wealthy people. It could be rectified on Tuesday morning over a weekend. If I were in my old position, we would put the new system in place by Tuesday and it would provide an equal playing field for everyone, including seniors with low incomes, ”says Humble.
According to ABC15’s Data Guru, seven of the top ten zip codes in Maricopa County, which received the first dose, are zip codes where the average income is $ 80,000. Of the seven zip codes, four of them have an average income of $ 100,000.
‘Any system that is a supply and demand system that depends on internet connection and availability of time will always skew people with higher incomes because it is business owners or people who have time to get in line and to to report, ‘adds Archer. .