Thank you Madame Noire for the opportunity to talk about inequities in this COVID-19 vaccine roll campaign. My commitment to reproductive justice makes my soul stir when I hear something sound off. When I wrote this, I was thinking of how the push and pull of "protecting" pregnant women is a guise for paternalism. Having bodily autonomy would mean that pregnant people get to choose what is best for them. Imagine that.
Click the link to find the original article at MadameNoire.com
"The goal to have an equitable rollout of the coronavirus vaccine is compromised. Prioritizing our elders and high-risk folks is sensible because they have comorbidities that cause unpredictable reactions with the coronavirus. The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine went to them, healthcare workers, frontline workers, and people with serious chronic conditions. Pregnancy is not an illness, but based on outcomes data, pregnant people who contract COVID-19 have a higher probability of being symptomatic and dying. COVID-19 infection was also proven to have an impact on preterm birth. Pregnant people experience higher risk, and pregnant people are everywhere. They are working at the local grocery store, driving city buses, taking their children to school, on college campuses, and caring for their elders. Giving them priority access is a level of early protection and it’s necessary. But, protection is the paradox."
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