Vaccinating a "Squatters' Paradise"
- Rachel Priebe
- Oct 22, 2021
- 1 min read
Updated: Oct 24, 2021
Recently, I read an article about COVID vaccinations in Slab City, an off-the-grid community near the Salton Sea nicknamed the "last free place." The article explained that vaccinating the community has been difficult and many residents have expressed hesitant views about the vaccine.
I think there are several explanations for this. This is a community that has staunch anti-establishment views. Many residents decide to live in this isolated community due to distrust of the government and authority, so their natural reaction is not to do as they are told.
There are no vaccination clinics in the Slabs, so residents must drive about 30 minutes to a nearby town in order to get the vaccine. Some residents do not have access to a car or have severe mental health issues that make them feel uncomfortable going out into "society."
Furthermore, there is less concern about the virus in the Slabs than there is in the city due to the nature of the environment. The community is small, relatively isolated and almost all social activity takes place outdoors. Most areas allow for ample space for social distancing.
I also feel that the authors of the article interviewed some of the more extreme residents and left out some of the other viewpoints (there are many people in the Slabs who have gotten the vaccine). I think this is partly because the more extreme characters like the attention that comes from media coverage and are easier for journalists to talk to.
This is very interesting! There is definitely a lot of overlap between the anti-establishment sentiments that caused these individuals to move to the Slabs, which also lends itself to why these individuals do not want to get a vaccine created by 'the establishment.' This example of anti-establishment sentiment lending itself to anti-vax sentiments can be expanded to individuals in the US who don't want to get vaccinated, since one of the primary reasons may be due to distrust of the government and any products that the government mandates individuals to get.
I thought this blog post was really interesting because I was not aware of Slab City and its inhabitants. It shocks me that people live in this isolated community because they do not want to be around the vaccine/trust the government. However, at the same time, I find it interesting that this community is attempting to do this with the utmost safety by having events outdoors and following social distance rules. Great post, I learned a lot of information!
I really enjoyed reading about Slab City, especially after just having read your last blog post on the Salton Sea. I never knew about it. Very interesting that residents of this area are resisting vaccines, however it also makes sense given the information you provided about the citizens and the city itself. I wonder what the numbers of COVID cases were there during the height of COVID and if citizen's views on the vaccine will change at some point.
I read an article on this from a few months back by the Desert Sun after reading your piece (unsure if this is the one you're referring to in the article) and I think they did a (relatively) good job in reporting on both sides of the vaccination camp in Slab City (talking both with people who supported it vs people who didn't). I wonder if you have any thoughts on if there should be some sort of move to increase vaccinations in the area and if so what you think that would look like, especially considering the fact that many people there are against government mandates?