‘People in My Group Are So White’: Facebook Vaccine Hunter Groups Underscore Inequity of Rollout
‘Vaccine hunters are the result of short supply, disorganization, inadequate sign-up systems, dire circumstances, and crowded hospitals’
In a Facebook group called Minneapolis Vaccine Hunters, a member recently shared a flyer announcing that a local shelter for people experiencing homelessness would be hosting Covid-19 vaccinations on February 11 — no appointment necessary. “Please be mindful that this clinic is intended for unsheltered people in Hennepin County,” noted the flyer, which was conspicuously addressed to individuals “living on the street.”
Later, in a separate post, another Facebook member said they’d managed to get vaccinated at the shelter. They were not homeless, as the flyer intended, but arrived late in the day and received a leftover dose from vaccination staff who said it would have otherwise been discarded. “Was suggested on this site to go at the end… and see if there would be any leftover or unused doses,” the person wrote. “I did that and there was.”
Thousands of Americans are now part of the “vaccine hunter” phenomenon, an online movement of people trading intel about where, when, and how to get vaccinated. Some are…
