Thread by @MarkLevineNYC

There are alarming signs that covid vaccination in NYC is disproportionately leaving behind people of color.

** We need to see data on the racial breakdown of vaccinations.**

And we need to take action now to fix yet another egregious case of inequity in this pandemic. 1/

Many mistakes are leading to racial inequity in NYC's vaccine roll-out:
* Eligibility that leaves out key groups of essential workers
* Too few sites in communities of color * Inadequate trust-building efforts
* A scheduling system that is incredibly difficult to navigate 2/

Equity demands that we extend vaccine eligiblity to include groups that have been left out:
* Food delivery
* Restaurant workers
* Taxi drivers
* Amazon warehouse workers
* Mail/parcel carriers
* Incarcerated people
3/

We need more vaccine sites in neighborhoods of color in NYC (e.g. the City has none in West Harlem / Wash Hghts / Inwood)

We need sites in NYCHA community centers, school gymnasiums, senior centers, houses of worship -- places accessible to the people getting left behind. 4/

NYC is way behind on building a huge effort to establish trust in the vaccine among Black & immigrant NYers. It should be led by community-based orgs on the ground, elevating the voices of local leaders.

We spent $40M+ on census outreach in NYC. We need even more for vaccines.5/

We need an online system for scheduling vaccine appts in NYC that doesn't block out people who lack tech skills, English ability, or hours to spare.

Travel websites have a single, smooth interface that unites 100s of airline booking systems. We need this for vaccination. 6/

There is mounting anecdotal evidence of serious racial inequity in NYC's vaccination program.

But we need to see the data.

We need the City to immediately release, on a daily basis, vaccination data broken down by:
* Race/ethnicity
* Geography
* Age
* Profession
7/

Back in Dec @uche_blackstock and I warned of the dangers of a vaccine rollout that failed to advance equity for Black communities & other communities of color.

It now appears these fears are being realized.

We must act decisively to right this ship. 8/8 gothamgazette.com/opinion/9990-n…