Why Are Poor Americans Resisting the Vaccine? Because COVID is the Least of Their Problems
"For many people, COVID-19 is not simply an infectious disease. The pandemic has intensified existing housing, financial, educational, and health insecurities. And getting a shot will not end them."
In an opinion piece in Newsweek, UIC Professor Claire Laurier Decoteau notes that the people she interviewed for the latest IRRPP report on COVID-19 "understand that health stems not simply from medical prevention and treatment, but also from safe homes and neighborhoods, good food and clean water, affordable housing, and financial security. So when the government suggests that vaccines are the answer, people who experience COVID-19 as not simply an infectious virus but also a crisis in housing, employment, food, and social assistance feel that a shot is not enough. And they're not wrong."