The community, Sykes said, has no pharmacies or supermarkets within walking distance. And many of their neighbors do not own cars and suffer from serious health problems, such as obesity and diabetes.
“If they are going to launch a vaccine and are going to launch it in supermarkets and pharmacies, I see a problem,” said Sykes. “Is it free? That’s a question. And how are they (residents) going to get there to get it?”
Chicago is among the cities across the country that may face obstacles to accessing the vaccine due to the lack of large drugstore and supermarket chains in their poorest black and brown neighborhoods. Public health experts identify these communities as “pharmacy deserts” – areas where a substantial number of residents have limited access to retail or independent pharmacies. The problem is found mainly in areas with low-income residents who have transportation barriers.
Civil rights leaders and health advocates fear that disparity could leave poor communities struggling to figure out how to vaccinate everyone, as the federal government says pharmacies will play a key role in distributing the vaccine.
“It will be confusing, especially if this vaccine is seen as safe and effective,” said Rev. Marshall Elijah Hatch Sr., of the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, on the west side of Chicago. “It is very difficult to imagine that there will be any kind of equal distribution. We will have to fight.”
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on November 12 that the United States government was partnering with large pharmacy chains and chains that represent independent pharmacies and regional chains to expand access to future Covid- 19. The list of pharmacies included CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and large supermarket chains with pharmacies like Walmart, Kroger, Costco and Publix.
“Pharmacy vaccinators are crucial public health partners to increase the access and convenience of Covid-19 vaccines,” said HHS in a press release. “In working with these partners, the federal government will rapidly expand access to Covid-19 vaccines.”
But relying on pharmacies to expand access to the vaccine can be challenging.
‘A national phenomenon’
There are nearly 500 licenses for active pharmacies in Chicago, according to the state of Illinois. Only 23% are in census tracts where the majority of the population is black.
“It’s a national phenomenon,” said Dima Qato, lead author of the Chicago drugstore study and an associate professor at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Southern California.
Nationally, the number of pharmacies – independent drugstores and chains, as well as pharmacies in supermarkets and large stores – has dropped to 56,788 in 2019 from 62,098 in 2015, estimated the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, a advocacy group.
Pharmacies in low-income neighborhoods and minorities in urban areas across the country are at the greatest risk of closing, Qato said. This is largely due to the lower reimbursement rates that pharmacies pay for Medicare and Medicaid prescriptions compared to private insurance plans, she said. Non-elderly blacks are more likely to receive Medicaid than whites, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Earlier this year, CVS closed 22 stores, including two in Chicago, which sparked protests from local black leaders.
CVS spokesman Mike DeAngelis said in an email to CNN that the closure was a “difficult business decision”.
However, DeAngelis said that CVS remains committed to providing pharmaceutical care to marginalized communities.
“In addition to providing Covid-19 vaccines in long-term care facilities starting this month, we will also eventually supply vaccines in all of our 10,000 pharmacies,” said DeAngelis. “Barriers to accessing the vaccine will be eliminated: vaccinations will be free for patients, available from many pharmaceutical retailers and health care providers, and underserved communities will be a particular area of focus.”
An urgent call for solutions
Lawmakers, doctors and civil rights leaders insist that equitable access to vaccines in urban neighborhoods needs immediate attention.
“It’s hard work because we know the history of racism in this country,” Lee told CNN. “But we know it is a matter of life and death and we don’t want to see this pandemic continue as it is.”
In New York, a task force of black civil rights leaders was formed to develop a plan to create equal access to vaccines.
In a statement earlier this month, the task force said the country was “ill-prepared and ill-equipped” to deliver the vaccine to the black community.
Jennifer Jones Austin, member of the task force, CEO and executive director of the New York Federation of Protestant Wellness Agencies, said that the Bronx’s poor neighborhoods, for example, lack quality health facilities and major health networks. pharmacies are not found around every corner as if they were wealthy communities. There are also not enough doctors to vaccinate all residents, she added.
The task force is proposing solutions like mobile clinics that go to underserved areas and vaccinate people, said Austin.
“We don’t want a situation where low-income people, people of color have to travel miles outside their own community to get access to this vaccine,” said Austin. “We have to figure out how to bring that access closer to home.”
The vaccine launch in Chicago
Meanwhile, Chicago residents fear how the vaccine will be deployed in the city’s poorest communities.
Sykes said he is sure that many black residents will not receive the injection because of distrust and limited access.
Hatch, the pastor, said he fears that the west and south sides could be left out of the vaccine distribution. The city, according to him, needs to consider residents who have mobility problems and have no means of reaching a health center.
“It’s more of an expense for people who can afford to pay less,” said Hatch.
Dr. Thomas Huggett of the Lawndale Christian Health Center said he treats homeless patients in a men’s shelter in West Chicago and none of them have vehicles.
Huggett said that one of his patients had to take two buses to get his medicine from a CVS because this is the preferred pharmacy for his Medicaid plan. There are only three CVS stores on the west side, said Huggett.
Huggett said hospitals, churches and elected officials with safety nets need to work together to ensure that residents can receive the vaccine.
“We need to come up with a plan to ensure that blacks and browns in underserved areas have access and are not just dependent on pharmacies,” said Huggett. “Investment will be needed to ensure that equity is treated in high-risk neighborhoods.”
Nicquel Terry Ellis reported and wrote from Atlanta, Nathaniel Meyersohn reported from New York and Omar Jimenez reported from Chicago. Priya Krishnakumar contributed to this report.