It would take most Cape Coders more than an hour to drive to the closest mass vaccination site, even after two new sites open this week, according to state Sen. Julian Cyr.
"I again worry that speed here is winning out over equity," said Cyr, a Democrat who represents the Cape and Islands. "I think Massachusetts is going to continue to look good when we look at the metric of doses that have distributed to the state versus shots in arms, because the governor is taking an approach that prioritizes mass vaccination, which is quite efficient. But I really worry about who's being left behind."
But the location of vaccination sites isn't the only problem, Cyr said. Reliable internet access and technical literacy are also barriers that are leaving some people behind.
"I think when you look at how the vaccines rolled out in Massachusetts, the fittest and most tech-savvy and those with wheels have been able to get access to a vaccine, which are disproportionately people of wealth," Cyr said. "Those are disproportionately White Massachusetts residents. We're leaving behind the vulnerable, the infirmed. We're leaving behind Black and brown communities."
We also heard from Heidemarie Floerke, a language teacher at Boston Latin School, about a songwriting workshop she held with her high schoolers. Over two zoom sessions, the students wrote a song with help from German American songwriter Antje Duvekot about what gives them hope in the pandemic.
Click on the audio player above to listen to the full episode.
Segments:
State Senator Julian Cyr - 2:48
Heidemarie Floerke - 17:59
