Why it matters: “Vaccine tourism” raises ethical and legal questions, and could worsen the racial socioeconomic and racial inequalities of the pandemic.
“People are getting anxious and frustrated with the system, and the system is how it is because there’s just not enough vaccine for everybody who wants it,” Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, said.
The big picture: Reports of wealthy couples taking private jets to Florida to get vaccinated have made national news, but Wendy Parmet, law and public policy and urban affairs professor at Northeastern University, said the problem is much deeper than a few ultra rich skipping the line.
“If there’s not a lot of transparency and trust in the system, in its fairness and equity, then there are always going to be some people to game the system,” creating a ‘vicious cycle of inequity,” she said.
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