Boston, MA – A coalition of racial justice, immigrant advocacy, and public health leaders unveiled a detailed report card which shows that the Baker administration left behind marginalized communities in its COVID-19 vaccination distribution.  

The report card gives the Baker administration Bs, Cs, Ds and Fs in four key aspects of the COVID vaccine distribution efforts. It grades the administration on both its “intent” to consider equity in the vaccine distribution as well as the “outcome” of their approach to equity.

“While Massachusetts can point to strong overall rates of vaccinations, this data obscures the inequities for historically marginalized communities,” said Elizabeth Sweet, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition. “For example, the mass-vaccination sites that were set up in April and May 2021 favored those that could take time off of work and had access to a personal vehicle. Barriers like these proved burdensome for people of color, immigrant communities, and low-income populations. Moving forward, we hope the next Administration better accounts for equity in the public health space – and in all areas of governing.”

The following table breaks down the four “equity criteria” used by the Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition, as well as the specific grades the coalition issued for both “intent” and “outcome” on these equity criteria.

Read the full release.