With great fanfare, as if announcing a miracle, the state proudly declared the vaccine was now available to those 70 and above and those with problems that put them at higher risk. It made a good photo-op for the politicians, who receive vaccines, have healthcare, fat pay checks and are allowed to take bribes and get rich at taxpayers’ expense.
Monday, Jan 4, arrived with 7 pharmacies in New Orleans each getting 107 shots to give out. You had to have known about it and have internet access and time to sit waiting for the list to go online. After pharmacies were listed, the phones were instantly busy, and people spent all day calling, even though the appointments were gone in minutes. Hundreds ran to pharmacies, desperate, only to be turned away without a future appointment. Three hours after all appointments were gone, Mayor Cantrell’s reelection PAC announced the vaccinations were available. Anything to look good, except for those who know better.
With only 749 shots available, a disgrace in itself, the most hard-hit Black seniors and at-risk people should have been offered it first. The vaccines should have been made available at community centers within walking distance, not at far-flung pharmacies.
Once again, capitalist medicine has failed to provide real care, given huge profits to the rich, and resulted in lots of inequality. They probably want us to fight each other for the shot, but we won’t; we’ll fight the capitalists instead.
-At-risk senior in the Florida neighborhood.