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  2021-02-20

  Vaccine Rollout Plans Are Actively Neglecting People of Color

  “Vaccine hesitance among Black people is real but it is NOT the reason why only FIVE PERCENT of vaccinations have gone to the Black community.” This is what the original poster wrote in their social media caption on Instagram. Many people are justifiably concerned with the current vaccine rollout and accessibility. Multiple people have taken to their respective social media accounts on Twitter to voice their thoughts about it. Vaccine hesitancy was acknowledged by handle @dch1309 as one reason for people not getting vaccinated. However, it seems that this reason is being generalized throughout the entire POC population. In reality, folks like handle @allysonxgill had the impossible task of booking an appointment to get vaccines. Meanwhile, handle @m_jones490 shared their significant other’s experience with an already-booked appointment, yet the site still had organization issues. I think handle @claudiaalick wrote the core of what I want to say; “The United States must always blame Black people for their own suffering." From these multiple accounts, it’s clear to me that there seems to be an active mission the organizers (government) are on that keep people of color away from even the option of getting vaccinated. Vaccination sites are disorganized and inaccessible to these folks. This happens while non-POC folks fault POC folks for not getting vaccinated at all; victim-blaming at its finest.