Later this month, we will receive our second dose of the Merderna vaccine. Michael is over 70 so he was eligible a week before me. I’m an educator, so I became eligible at the end of February. There are inequities around the distribution of the vaccine that are striking to me.
Michael was lucky to be eligible because of his age despite his recent recovery from lung cancer and reduced lung capacity along with other issues that make him at high risk of dying from COVID-19. I too, have documented health conditions that put me at high risk. But none of that mattered. It came down to age and type of employment. Beyond healthcare workers and first responders, I believe that if we really wanted to save more lives, we would have put the most medically vulnerable next in line. Despite the knowledge that years of economic disparities, medical neglect, and racism have made people of color more likely to die from COVID-19, governors couldn’t bring themselves to put people of color with health conditions near the front of the line. In fact, even today, the availability of the vaccines in communities of color is lower if it is available at all. And the myth that blacks are unwilling to take the vaccine has been dispelled by recent polls that show we are the most willing of any ethnic group at 73% willingness. This is so unfair.
The other inequity that is glaringly apparent is the amount of time many people have to wait in line for the vaccine. On the news, they showed people waiting up to six hours to get the vaccine and so we expected that it would take all day. For Michael, his wait was about 20 minutes and I didn’t have to wait at all. I literally walked into the tent 5 minutes ahead of my appointment and had my shot within 2 minutes of my arrival. There was no line at all.
I’ve often marveled at why some people have to wait in long lines for hours to vote in major elections while I have never had to wait more than 10 minutes. And now I vote by mail just because its more convenient. Republican state legislatures are trying to make the situation worse for communities of color to vote by removing vote by mail, reducing polling place hours of operation, eliminating drop boxes, and demanding voter ID. We all know that the quality of roads, schools, water, air, and even grocery stores is better in white parts of town than others. Something is definitely amiss. A five year old child could point out the unfairness happening here.
When I ask myself what factors are at play to make my access to public benefits like decent roads and schools or easy engagements like getting a vaccine and voting versus someone else’s, I have to admit two things. First, I live in a predominately white area. Second, is our upper middle class economic status. Our taxpayer dollars make these benefits and engagements possible, but why are these funds dispersed so unevenly?
Early on my parents recognized these inequities and opted to move us into a white neighborhood once redlining was challenged in court. We found better roads, better schools, better and less expensive groceries, bigger public libraries, and a plethora of other benefits. While we faced bigotry and prejudice, those obstacles built our resilience, courage, and determination. It also made us aware that not all white people were bigoted nor prejudice. I found good friends who learned from my family that black people are actually as human as they are. So, I too, made the decision to raise my children in a predominately white affluent neighborhood to enjoy the better public assets but also to expand the minds of white neighbors about black people. And although we dealt with occasional bigotry and prejudice, my children grew to be strong advocates for diversity, equity and inclusion.
I understand that public assets are funded by a combination of local, state, and federal tax dollars. But if a depressed area has a lower local tax base because its population is poor, wouldn’t it be fair or equitable for the state and federal government to step in to boost the resources available to repair roads, bolster education, and to have adequate polling places? After all, we all pay state and federal taxes. However, as we know from Donald Trump and even Warren Buffet, the wealthy are paying less in taxes than the average working American. All the more reason for us to insist on equity.
By not insisting on fairness, we are institutionalizing inequity on the basis of race and economic class. Years of red-lining kept people of color locked in poor neighborhoods that effectively strangled the local tax base. And we know about the history of white people violently destroying those black communities that did manage to thrive. And once red-lining ended, white flight occurred as people of color began moving into predominately white neighborhoods. In fact, many formerly white schools and neighborhoods in California are now all black or Latino. Whites moved out and took their generational wealth with them.
It’s time that we start demanding equity from our state and federal politicians who distribute the funds that we all contribute to. In Florida, Ron Desantis is accused of funneling more vaccines to white republican areas. This kind of inequity needs to be called out and politicians who distribute our publicly funded assets unfairly need to be voted out of office. Of course, we need to first secure our collective ability to vote. The time for equity in the distribution of public benefits is definitely now.