Certainly a complex issue. I don't think you'd find just one answer. Two things I've come across lately: One was Mississippi congressman Bennie Thompson noting that 4 counties in his district had NO vaccination sites.
I enjoy when you school me about MS.
I had to look up who that is and where his district is (halfway between Jackson and Memphis). Perhaps of interest here, Greenwood is where Robert Johnson is buried.
As I have shared before there "was" no vaccination site in my county. Back a few months ago I had to drive to the next county over, to get my jabs.
So access is an issue. (It's worth noting there was federal money available to help remedy the issues with access, but MS's GOP governor couldn't be bothered.)
Those damn republicans..... As I recall from back when I was pursuing my vaccinations the limiting factor was availability of vaccines, not our Governor.
Now there are multiple places where I could get jabbed in my home county. Without searching I see Walmart offering jabs, and even my local health clinic, within walking distance, now has a sign out front offering free vaccinations. Where I live is poor, but not MS delta poor, like Greenwood. Even Greenwood has walk-in vaccinations available from a local CVS. MSDH has been supporting pop-up vaccination sites in poor areas (like Choctaw and Smith county). As I shared before even my druggist neighbor has covid vaccine available in his drug store freezer now.
And there was a survey of unvaxxed I saw today that noted that maybe 20% would be more likely to get vaxxed if they could get paid time off to get the shot and or recover from after effects.
Free sh__ the universal government answer for all problems ?
LOTS of black & brown folks work jobs where paid time off is nonexistent, paid sick leave is nonexistent, and missing work for whatever reason might lead to job loss.
I see lots of signs trying to hire workers (mostly fast food places) but I am not paying close attention.
Certainly these aren't the only reasons minority vaxx rates lag, but they're part of the picture.
Trying not to repeat myself too much, candidates saying not to trust the vaccines before the election to discredit then President Trump cast shade on the vaccines. The FDA temporarily paused the J&J vaccine for 10 days back in April, creating doubt about all vaccines. The FDA still has not formally approved the vaccines, despite issuing an emergency approval for a third jab for immunosuppressed individuals. A lot of the doubts about vaccines are created by government actions.
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I am not big on conspiracy theories but am alert to the potential to prolong this "health emergency" for political strategy. I am not claiming that this is happening but I trust your side about as much as you trust mine.
JR
