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About Vaccine Equity Project
The research question for this project is, “Perspectives from Canadian COVID-19 Hotspots: What are the experiences of racialized postsecondary students who reside in COVID-19 hotspots accessing vaccines from pop-up and mobile vaccine clinics''?
COVID-19 disproportionately impacts racialized communities in the United States and Canada (1)
Toronto Public Health identifies that 83 percent of individuals infected with COVID-19 self-identify as racialized, despite only 52% of Toronto residents identifying as racialized (2).
The Role Of Pop-Up & Mobile Vaccine Clinics
American and Canadian governments are deploying pop-up and mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinics to at-risk communities, citing that the immunization of at-risk populations has the potential to reduce or prevent the exacerbation of immediate health inequities related to COVID-19 (5-6). Further, both jurisdictions are actively deploying low-barrier, anti-oppressive, and equitable mobile and vaccine clinics to combat health inequities and ensure vaccines are accessible for racialized communities (7-8).
Despite this, there is little data illuminating the experiences of racialized youth residing in COVID-19 hotspots, who are identified as priority or at-risk populations, in accessing and navigating these vaccine clinics.
Project Objectives
Through qualitative, zoom interviews with racialized postsecondary students and community leaders residing in COVID-19 hotspots in Glassboro, United States and Toronto, Canada, interviewees will be asked to share their experiences and insights navigating vaccines in their community.
Meet The Team!
We are a team of undergraduate student researchers at the University of Toronto!
Caitlin Arizala (She/Her)
Principal Investigator
Caitlin Arizala is a 2nd-year University of Toronto undergraduate student majoring in Health Studies (Population Health) and double minoring in Public Law and Psychology. As a first-generation immigrant who settled in Toronto in 2004, Caitlin is a longtime resident of the North York community, now residing in Rexdale. As a social entrepreneur, writer, and equity advocate, Caitlin employs community organizing and writing to mobilize social change and empower marginalized Toronto communities. She is passionate about unravelling the intersections of identity as a hyphenated, racialized woman living with disabilities through her poetry, creative essays, self-published research, reflections, and grassroots involvement. In all her work, Caitlin believes activism, writing, and the amplification of racialized, youth leadership in high-level decision-making spheres are powerful pathways to identity achievement and a more equitable built world. She strives to make academia more accessible to low-income, racialized youth.
Caitlin's love for the City of Toronto, activism, and community organizing extends into her present positions as Community Outreach Coordinator for the Flaunt it Movement. Aside from this project, she is presently contributing to qualitative research on health equity in virtual primary care and Filipinx mental health. Her community work, research, and writing extend into her positions as a G(irls)20 Young Director, Board member of The Ontario Association of College and University Housing Officers, and more. She hopes to utilize her experiences as a future Toronto-based equity/ immigration lawyer and health equity researcher.
Abigail Ralph (She/Her)
Co-Investigator
Abigail Ralph is an incoming third-year student at the University of Toronto studying a double major in Neuroscience and Health Policy. She identifies as a racialized youth residing in a current COVID-19 Hotspot and has direct and lived experience working with population groups in Rexdale. At the age of 17, Abigail began her first qualitative research project as a Youth Co-Researcher conducting qualitative interviews and providing critical discourse in a project titled "Making sense of Black and Indigenous movements'' under the supervision of Dr. Eve Tuck, supported by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. In addition, Abigail currently sits on the Community Advisory Research Board Committee for “The Young African, Caribbean, Black (ACB) Women’s Anti-Racism Insights to Action Project" conducted by Women’s Health in Women’s Hands Community Health Centre. Abigail has career aspirations of becoming a research physician in order to conduct translational research in health and neuroscience. With this project, she aims to create awareness regarding the inclusion of racialized youth in COVID-19 polices. She says, "A lot- if not all- of COVID-19 policies have been made for youth, without youth, this project will remind policy makers whose voices really matter.”
Omer Jamal (He/Him)
Co-Investigator
Omer Jamal is a 4th-year undergraduate student studying at UTSC, pursuing a double major in Human Biology and Health Studies with a minor in Psychology. He currently works as a research assistant at the Boggild lab for Tropical Infectious Diseases. During the summer of 2020, Omer worked on a racial equity project via the UofT student engagement award. In this project, his team and he researched the importance of collecting race-based COVID-19 data to provide an equitable response to the current pandemic. During this project, the team brought light to a very important matter of racial inequities. During this project, he developed some key communication skills, critical thinking skills, statistical analysis skills, literature review skills, and problem-solving skills that were used to gain insights on this important topic. Omer hopes to continue his undergrad research work on important topics revolving around health equity. In addition, Omer's research interests include Global Health Equity, Disease Prevention and Treatment, and Epidemiology.
Richelle Nelson (She/Her)
Co-Investigator
Richelle Nelson is a First-Generation Jamaican-Canadian undergraduate student majoring in Women and Gender Studies with a minor in sociology and Philosophy at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Richelle is the co-founder and the current president of UTM's Black Students' Association. She also was elected UTMSU's 2019-2020 Vice-President Campus Life, where she organized significant university events such as the university's Orientation, Black History Month and Culture fest. She is a self-taught makeup artist, filmmaker, photographer, activist and scholar.
In March 2021, Richelle became the Early Research Award recipient, where she will be a research assistant under Professor Caroline Hoosein, directing a documentary for the 'I AM A FEMINIST' series. Due to her community and academic achievements, she has also been awarded a full-ride scholarship through The Pinball Clemons Foundation. Growing up in the Jane and Finch community, she has dedicated her time to always staying connected through grassroots organizing. Her passion for her community and her love for film arts has driven her desire to share her community's stories. After Graduation, Richelle plans to attend Toronto Film school to deepen her knowledge of filmmaking in Fall 2021. Her goal is to create stories that highlight stories of Women and Non-binary people of Color.
References
(1) Canada, P. H. A. of. (2021, February 21). CPHO Sunday Edition: The Impact of COVID-19 on Racialized Communities. Canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/
public-health/news/2021/02/cpho-sunday-edition-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-racialized-communities.html.
(2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2020). Key Operational Considerations for Jurisdictions ... - CDC. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/downloads/Key-Op-Considerations-COVID-Mass-Vax.pdf.
(3)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2020, September 17). SARS-CoV-2–Associated Deaths Among Persons Aged 21 Years - United States,
February 12–July 31, 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6937e4.htm?s_cid=mm6937e4_w.
(4) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2021, June 3). Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Among School-Aged Children: Are We Doing Enough? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2021/21_0084.htm.
(5) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, May 14). Ensuring Equitable COVID-19 Vaccine Access for Older Adults and People with Disabilities. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/older-adults-and-disability/access.html.
(6) City of Toronto. (2020, July 30). Toronto Public Health releases new socio-demographic COVID-19 data. City of Toronto. https://www.toronto.ca/news/torontopublic-health-releases-new-socio-demographic-covid-19-data/.
(7)City of Toronto. (2021, April 30). The City of Toronto and its community partners continue to support the vaccination of residents without OHIP cards. City of Toronto. https://www.toronto.ca/news/the-city-of-toronto-and-its-community-partners-continue-to-support-the-vaccination-of-residents-without-ohip-cards/.
(8) City of Toronto. (n.d.). COVID-19 in the Toronto Context. COVID-19:Impacts and Opportunities. https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2020/ex/bgrd/
backgroundfile-157351.pdf.