Health Displacement in Oregon: Covid-19 and Vaccines

Alex Gonzalez, Dulce Sanabria Garcia, and Hailey Rosario
Directed by Dr. Susan Murray

For our project, we used two lenses to examine the inequities people of color are facing in the health care system, particularly in the face of the pandemic. One of those lenses was the disproportionate rates at which COVID-19 was infecting these communities. The other was the unequal rates at which non-white folks were receiving vaccinations. 

Once we had a grasp of the importance of this history, we wanted to create an outcome that would spark conversations about these inequities in our community. So we created a survey that connects background, personal knowledge, and personal experiences with healthcare and COVID-19 impact. Additionally, we spoke to people working in the front lines of vaccine distribution to learn about challenges they face when delivering this health service.

These kinds of conversations are important because they allow us to burst out of our own bubble and see the challenges other communities are facing. Our work shows that when it comes to health, prioritizing one group of people doesn’t work – herd immunity includes everyone. We also recognized that many of these inequities stem from systemically racist policies, and we wanted to encourage our peers to become empowered advocates for health equity. To facilitate these discussions, we created an online infographic with our main takeaways and a call to action supplemented by a link tree with resources people can use to learn more. We also published an opinion piece to go into more depth about how systemic racism is driving these inequalities.