Vaccination rates

There's a lot of media clickbait about vaccine hesitancy, but is it the dominant explanation for low vaccine rates?

"As vaccinations were rolled out across the country last year to combat COVID-19, public health experts raised concerns about low uptake in communities of color, based on historic distrust with the health care system.

But a new study of vaccination data in Massachusetts has found that educational level is a much stronger predictor than race, and could find no evidence that vaccine hesitancy played a role in people’s decisions.

“Although ‘vaccine hesitancy’ dominates media coverage, in fact, language barriers, lack of regular health providers, absence of paid time off to get vaccinated and recover, and lack of trust in the health system all play a role in undermining vaccine coverage,” noted the team of researchers from Boston University’s School of Public Health and the city’s Public Health Commission."

*snip*

“This report highlights that people with complicated lives, and a lot of folks stereotyped as being hesitant, actually had high vaccination rates. And it really points to this being an access issue and we have to be better,” said Atyia Martin, executive director for Next Leadership Development, a nonprofit that focuses on building resilience in Black communities.

While vaccines have been widely offered in local pharmacies and doctor’s offices, Martin and others said many lower-income essential workers often lack the transportation or time off, particularly if they suffer side effects after getting vaccinated.

“We have to have strategies that are more sophisticated and account for people’s real lives and what they’re dealing with,” Martin said. “And we have to let the data be the guide for the decisions we are making.” https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/14/metro/new-covid-19-vaccine-study-challenges-stereotypes-who-is-getting-shots/?s_campaign=bostonglobe:push:web