Covid-19 Vaccination Is Not Going to Be Equitable, Is It?

America’s unjust status quo threatens the intervention we need most

Rene F. Najera, MPH, DrPH

Sep 3, 2020·9 min read

An African American child is receiving an oral vaccine as they are held by their mother. — A nurse administers the polio vaccine to an infant patient at the Well-Baby Clinic in DeKalb County, Georgia, 1977. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

In 1954, a very risky experiment took place across many different cities in the United States. Families lined up for hours in the summer heat so parents could have their children immunized against polio. At the time, polio was affecting children in the…