The internet has been an indispensable health tool during the pandemic, allowing millions to educate themselves about COVID-19 or make a telehealth appointment to see their doctors while staying safely socially distant.

But not all Americans can afford a computer and the roughly $70 month it costs for internet access. Tamra Burns Loeb and Arleen F. Brown of UCLA and Paris “AJ” Adkins-Jackson of Harvard are researchers who study health disparities. “Signing up for the vaccine has predominantly occurred online,” they write. “This means that far fewer older adults from under-resourced racial and ethnic minority communities have been able to make appointments.”

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Lynne Anderson

Senior Health + Medicine Editor

A man fills out an online application during a job fair hosted by the city of Chicago in July 2012. The fair offered computer access to people who do not have internet access. Scott Olson/Getty Images

No internet, no vaccine: How lack of internet access has limited vaccine availability for racial and ethnic minorities

Tamra Burns Loeb, UCLA School of Medicine; Arleen F. Brown, UCLA School of Medicine; Paris "AJ" Adkins-Jackson, Harvard University

Early numbers show that people from racial and ethnic minorities have lower vaccination rates. Lack of internet access could be a reason.

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    Anders C. Hardig, American University School of International Service; Tazreena Sajjad, American University School of International Service

    The roots of Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar go back to colonial days. Those behind the military coup are seeking to harness it to legitimize the seizure of power.

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