Pandemic of #unvaccinated, more like #PandemicOfInequities‼️
🧵Below are a few interactions I’ve had in the past year with people who have been left behind by our inequitable approaches and deficit model assumptions and labels.
Shared with consent on the condition of anonymity
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🧵Below are a few interactions I’ve had in the past year with people who have been left behind by our inequitable approaches and deficit model assumptions and labels.
Shared with consent on the condition of anonymity
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Case1️⃣: recent refugees, husband works min-wage in a bakery, wife pregnant and earns VERY modest income through knitting. Have 3 children < 12 yrs old.
Whole family was unvaccinated until recently.
Few months ago, one child was exposed in school. Family didn’t have access to
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Whole family was unvaccinated until recently.
Few months ago, one child was exposed in school. Family didn’t have access to
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Case1️⃣ cont’d: #RapidTests & frankly didn’t even know that was an option. Husband couldn’t afford to take a half-day off to get tested even when symptoms emerged. He ended up in ICU—sole bread winner for the family.
Even then the wife was hesitant to vaccinate herself or her
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Even then the wife was hesitant to vaccinate herself or her
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Case1️⃣ cont’d: kids because of rampant misinformation in community upon which she was increasingly reliant due to continued discrimination & being othered in the health system, which had seriously shaken her trust in medical establishment.She was referred to me by a colleague.
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Case1️⃣ cont’d:
She was reluctant to speak to me until she realized I too was a refugee and spoke her language (Turkish).
When we finally connected, she described being made to feel like “a burden, an uneducated, ignorant fool”.
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She was reluctant to speak to me until she realized I too was a refugee and spoke her language (Turkish).
When we finally connected, she described being made to feel like “a burden, an uneducated, ignorant fool”.
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Case2️⃣:
A gentleman in his 50s who had been cycled through the health system for years before finally being diagnosed with cyclothymic disorder & offered very few support resources.
This had left him quite disillusioned about the medical establishment. He found refuge
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A gentleman in his 50s who had been cycled through the health system for years before finally being diagnosed with cyclothymic disorder & offered very few support resources.
This had left him quite disillusioned about the medical establishment. He found refuge
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Case2️⃣ cont’d: in anti-science and anti-vaccine circles.
Even though I finally managed to convince him to get vaccinated, he continues to carry the heavy burden of years of being othered by an inequitable health system.
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Even though I finally managed to convince him to get vaccinated, he continues to carry the heavy burden of years of being othered by an inequitable health system.
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Case3️⃣: immigrant family with 5 kids, 2 are < 5 yrs and not eligible to get vaccinated yet. The rest of the family is vaccinated. Both parents work multiple min-wage jobs.
No access to #RapidTest because they simply can’t afford to take time off from work to wait in lineups.
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No access to #RapidTest because they simply can’t afford to take time off from work to wait in lineups.
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Case3️⃣ cont’d: Their jobs put them at increased risk of exposure.
The father, who has diabetes was infected, and because very sick, while he didn’t need hospitalization, he was sick enough that his wife had to also miss work to look after him & also ensure kids don’t get sick.
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The father, who has diabetes was infected, and because very sick, while he didn’t need hospitalization, he was sick enough that his wife had to also miss work to look after him & also ensure kids don’t get sick.
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Case3️⃣ cont’d: They have a child with a rare hereditary disease, which means increased risk for severe complications and even death. They live in a small 3 bedroom apartment and had no way of properly isolating the child, and no family to take the child for a few days.
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Case3️⃣ cont’d: No easy access to tests, including #RapidTests meant that they couldn’t reassure friends the child is not infectious in order to be taken in for a few days to prevent potential exposure. This + loss of income became a MAJOR source of distress for the family.
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Case3️⃣ cont’d: It took concerted effort with a few community friends and hospital colleagues to get the child tested and find them a safe place for a few days till the rest of the family recovered from their infection.
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These are but a few examples of how low socioeconomic status and traditionally marginalized and underserved groups continue to fall through the cracks of our health systems and inequitable pandemic management policies.
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Things we 💯 must improve
📌 #PaidSickDays
📌 Recognizing & addressing the failure of our health literacy campaigns in meeting the needs of marginalized groups who have legitimate reasons for mistrust.
📌 Recognizing that our health systems are BROKEN and need major overhaul
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📌 #PaidSickDays
📌 Recognizing & addressing the failure of our health literacy campaigns in meeting the needs of marginalized groups who have legitimate reasons for mistrust.
📌 Recognizing that our health systems are BROKEN and need major overhaul
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