Can Vaccine Allocation Plans Legally Respond to Racial Disparities?

Authors

Govind C. Persad, University of DenverFollow

Publication Date

3-29-2021

Document Type

Article

Organizational Units

Sturm College of Law

Keywords

Vaccines, Racial disparities, Missouri, COVID

Abstract

Recently, Missouri expanded phase 2 vaccination eligibility with the goal of addressing disproportionate COVID-19 impacts.

Specifically, Missouri’s policy applies to “Disproportionately Affected Populations,” which is further defined as: “Populations at increased risk of acquiring or transmitting COVID-19, with emphasis on racial/ethnic minorities not otherwise included in 1B.”

This presents a much-debated and often misunderstood question I explore in a forthcoming University of Illinois Law Review article: can COVID-19 vaccine allocation legally recognize the outsized burden of cases and deaths that racial/ethnic minority communities have borne during the pandemic?

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Recommended Citation

Govind Persad, Can Vaccine Allocation Plans Legally Respond to Racial Disparities?, Bill of Health (Mar. 29, 2021), https://blog.petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2021/03/29/vaccine-allocation-racial-disparities/.