Dharma Cortés, PhD quoted in a March 20, 2021 USA Today article on disparities in COVID-19 vaccinations.

Dharma Cortés, a sociologist and senior scientist with the Health Equity Research Lab and Harvard Medical School-affiliated Cambridge Health Alliance, said the results aren’t surprising.

“These complex factors that shape the lives of these people have a tremendous impact on their ability to get vaccinated,” said Cortés, a medical anthropology expert. “The same factors that shape the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on these populations are again shaping the way they are actually getting vaccinated or not.”

She added many people struggling to make ends meet are working multiple jobs, making it difficult to take time off to get the shot.

“When people have more than one job, they don’t have time to go and spend hours calling to make an appointment to get a vaccine or surfing the internet to find a site where they actually can sign up for these vaccines,” she said. “Another barrier is transportation. If you have to travel far to get vaccine, spend hours waiting, that definitely has an impact on their livelihood.”