Author Topic: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?  (Read 281 times)

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Offline Queefer Sutherland

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Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« on: February 16, 2021, 04:29:38 pm »
I find this disturbing:

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thehouse/racialized-canadians-vaccine-priority-1.5911952

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Two public health experts in Toronto say governments must prioritize vaccinating Black Canadians and other people of colour against COVID-19 because the data shows they are most at risk of contracting the virus.

Akwatu Khenti and Ananya Tina Banerjee told CBC Radio's The House that failing to vaccinate those communities will not only put them at greater risk of getting COVID-19, but also increases the chance that the virus will spread more widely.

"The reason that Black people have a higher rate of positivity, or higher hospitalization rates, is actually because of social inequities, systemic racism and neighborhood vulnerabilities," said Khenti, who teaches at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health and chairs the city's Black Scientists Task Force on Vaccine Equity.

There's NOTHING about someone's skin colour that makes them more vulnerable to COVID.  This is racist hogwash.  What does make them more vulnerable is low income, # of occupants per dwelling and population density of the area they live (ie: apartment buildings vs single homes), whether they are front-line workers etc.  Race is NOT a factor.  Race is only a correlating factor with other variables that do actually increase COVID risk, such as income and the other ones mentioned.

If we prioritize racial minorities, does that mean poor white people living in these neighbourhoods don't get vaccine priority?  Does this mean wealthy racial minorities get vaccine priority?  How is this in any way logical or just?  It's simply racist.
"Nipples is one of the great minds of our time!" - Bubbermiley

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Offline JMT

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2021, 04:45:55 pm »
There’s a lot of stuff here to combat the kind of selective ignorance above:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200420-coronavirus-why-some-racial-groups-are-more-vulnerable

The virus doesn’t care how you feel about things.
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Online wilber

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2021, 05:05:21 pm »
There’s a lot of stuff here to combat the kind of selective ignorance above:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200420-coronavirus-why-some-racial-groups-are-more-vulnerable

The virus doesn’t care how you feel about things.

How is it selective ignorance?
He says the same thing as the article you linked. The causes are economic, not racial.
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Offline Queefer Sutherland

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2021, 05:14:39 pm »
There’s a lot of stuff here to combat the kind of selective ignorance above:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200420-coronavirus-why-some-racial-groups-are-more-vulnerable

What is your argument?  Nothing your link says disagrees with my points from what I see.

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The virus doesn’t care how you feel about things.
The virus doesn't care about a person's skin colour.  It's not infecting people because they're black or brown.  As you say, the virus doesn’t care how you feel about things.
"Nipples is one of the great minds of our time!" - Bubbermiley

Offline JMT

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2021, 05:27:13 pm »
Really?

Offline JMT

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2021, 05:28:21 pm »
Part 2

Offline JMT

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2021, 05:29:39 pm »
Part 3

Offline JMT

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2021, 05:35:28 pm »
The lets deal with indigenous people. Indigenous people in Canada are far more severely affected by COVID 19. There are a whole host of reasons for this, but a lot of it comes down to the prevalence of diabetes in indigenous communities. It is in fact thought to be a genetic predisposition:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/diabetes-type-2-first-nations-1.3768773
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Offline JMT

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2021, 05:36:39 pm »
But I'm not really sure of your point anyway. Who cares why it affects minority communities more? It does. That means that they should be a higher vaccine priority if our goal is preventing death and suffering.
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Offline Queefer Sutherland

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2021, 05:48:59 pm »
Really?

US surveys aren't relevant to Canada's healthcare systems.  If there is evidence of widespread racial bias in Canada's healthcare systems that are proven to negatively affect racial minorities in COVID outcomes then sure this can be calculated into vaccine distribution.
"Nipples is one of the great minds of our time!" - Bubbermiley
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Offline Queefer Sutherland

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2021, 05:52:53 pm »
The lets deal with indigenous people. Indigenous people in Canada are far more severely affected by COVID 19. There are a whole host of reasons for this, but a lot of it comes down to the prevalence of diabetes in indigenous communities. It is in fact thought to be a genetic predisposition:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/diabetes-type-2-first-nations-1.3768773

"Suspected reasons".  If there's data on genetic links, then that is a legitimate argument.  A suspicion is not data.  Levels of poverty and education are also mentioned as possible factors.
"Nipples is one of the great minds of our time!" - Bubbermiley

Offline JMT

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2021, 05:56:16 pm »
"Suspected reasons".  If there's data on genetic links, then that is a legitimate argument.  A suspicion is not data.  Levels of poverty and education are also mentioned as possible factors.

The data says that indigenous people are disproportionately affected by COVID. That's what matters most.

Offline Queefer Sutherland

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2021, 06:06:30 pm »
But I'm not really sure of your point anyway. Who cares why it affects minority communities more? It does. That means that they should be a higher vaccine priority if our goal is preventing death and suffering.

The point is you target priority communities based on data and sound science, not feelings.  We shouldn't be prioritizing people based on race, we should be prioritizing populations based on risk of infection and death.

If a neighbourhood has a high infection rate, then prioritize them.  If they don't, then don't.  What we don't need is all the minorities in an apartment building of a poor neighbourhood with high COVID rates getting vaccinated but the white people in that building not getting priority simply due to the colour of their skin.  That is what you call racial discrimination and it's disgusting.  Many Indigenous communities have high rates of infection, so I have no problem prioritizing them if that's the case.  If some are located in isolated northern Canada spots with low rates of infection then don't prioritize them.  Their ethnicity is irrelevant.
"Nipples is one of the great minds of our time!" - Bubbermiley
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Offline Queefer Sutherland

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2021, 06:21:06 pm »
The data says that indigenous people are disproportionately affected by COVID. That's what matters most.

No it doesn't, because people will fall through the cracks.  It's just lazy social science ignoring all sorts of other variables.  Correlation doesn't equal causation.  Do you think Jody Wilson-Raybould should get priority over somebody else of another race living in poverty in an densely populated community?  She's wealthy, she doesn't need it.  It's nonsense.  It has nothing to do with race.

If there's a specific community of indigenous people shown to vulnerable to COVID then yes prioritize them.  And then prioritize within that community based on the other variables such as age, health status, occupation etc.  This needs to be data driven.  Vaccinating indigenous children over middle-aged people of other races might not be the wisest move.  It depends on the data and science, not virtue.
"Nipples is one of the great minds of our time!" - Bubbermiley
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Offline Squidward von Squidderson

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Re: Vaccine prioritizing based on race?
« Reply #14 on: February 16, 2021, 06:28:25 pm »
It’s the same stupid arguments people use not to vaccinate prisoners.   It doesn’t feel right to give prisoners priority, despite what the data actually tells us should happen.
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