Claire Park, The Washington Post ; Online vaccine sign-ups make Internet access a matter of life and death
"Getting a vaccine shouldn’t depend on having high-speed Internet service,
a computer and familiarity with being online, but it often does. By
reviewing digital resources such as The Washington Post’s tracker of vaccinations across the country, residents can stay informed about the coronavirus and sign up for vaccinations online. Yet more than 77 million people
in the United States lack Internet at home — and worse, many of them do
not have access to a smartphone, making it that much more difficult for
them to learn what’s available when and to whom. According to a study
from the Pew Research Center, more than 4 in 10 adults
with incomes below $30,000 a year don’t have home broadband services or
a computer, and 3 in 10 adults in the same income bracket don’t own a
smartphone. And even when they are in the loop, these people must also
resort to calling state hotlines and waiting for hours on hold
to reserve what vaccination appointments remain after many have already
been booked online. While some states and communities reserve a number
of appointments daily for those calling in, most groups still assume
that everyone has the time, Internet service and device to make their
appointment on the Web.
Further, Black, Indigenous and Latino people, as well as older adults — the very populations hardest hit by the coronavirus — constitute a disproportionate
share of those without Internet access. This means that despite efforts
to prioritize vaccinations for those most at risk, people in these
communities who lack the Internet service, devices or digital literacy
they need to sign up for vaccines online are still left at higher risk
of contracting and dying from the virus."