"Access Denied"

INVESTIGATIVE CATEGORY

San Antonio Express-News
04/20/2022

“Access Denied” drew on street reporting and deep data analysis to demonstrate that in San Antonio, access to hospitals, preventive care and even COVID-19 vaccines depends heavily on where you live. Residents of the poorer West and Southwest Sides, the heavily Latino areas of the city historically shortchanged on public services and investment, have to drive farther to doctor’s appointments, clinics and hospitals – a severe detriment for the thousands who rely on public transit.

These structural inequities, which date back decades, were thrust into high relief by the pandemic, when San Antonio’s minority populations were overrepresented among those who became infected and died – and underrepresented among those who were vaccinated against the coronavirus. As Laura Garcia points out in the first of the stories submitted here, city health officials opened various COVID-19 vaccination sites – but none on San Antonio’s South Side.

The project, supported by a grant and mentorship from the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, registered powerfully with readers and elected officials. The county manager displayed maps and charts from these stories in explaining to county commissioners the need for a top-to-bottom overhaul of county health services in light of the pandemic.

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Submitted by Marc Duvoisin.