Inequities in Technology Contribute to Disparities in COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

Abstract

As states have begun administering COVID-19 vaccines to those 65 years and older and essential workers, they face substantial challenges. These challenges include the race against more contagious virus variants; the continuing death toll, particularly in vulnerable subgroups 1 ; concerns about vaccine supplies; and insufficient funding for vaccine distribution. The National Academy of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Council On Immunization Practices (ACIP) have emphasized the need for equitable vaccine allocation and urgent prioritization of subgroups most negatively affected by COVID-19.Because of social distancing measures, vaccine scheduling has predominantly relied on technology such as mobile apps and internet portals. Despite ongoing efforts to ensure equity, longstanding systemic disparities in technology access and literacy are hindering equitable vaccine distribution and raising bigger questions about how technology disparities may be affecting social and health disparities. A recent JAMA editorial offered several important recommendations to promote equity in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. 2 However, national guidelines and expert recommendations have not proposed solutions to technology-related equity challenges.Ameliorating these inequities will require a deeper understanding of how technology may exacerbate disparities in vaccine access and to consider potential solutions. 3 Author affiliations and article information are listed at the end of this article.

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“…Patients who did not agree that the vaccine may help fight the pandemic/reduce the virus transmission and those with poor confidence in the healthcare system were also more likely to not support the vaccine. At the time of writing this paper, vaccination process is ongoing at different speeds around the world; some countries are very advanced, others are struggling [ 10 ]. One of the major challenges is vaccine acceptance especially with the important amount of misinformation on the Internet [ 11 ].…”

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“…For example, 56 million children in sub-Saharan African countries experience digital inequality, as the mobile networks do not provide adequate service and experience problems every day. Even in many developed countries, it is stated that millions of school-age students live in homes without Internet service [21][22][23][24][25][26]. In this context, the results of the research conducted by Jaeger and Blaabaek [27] also revealed that COVID-19 has further increased the inequality in learning opportunities and that families with better socioeconomic status are more advantaged than financially more impoverished families during the pandemic.…”

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