Sophie Park

Freelance Photographer

On The Washington Post

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Location: Boston, MA

Nationality: USA

Biography: Sophie Park is a Korean American photojournalist based in Boston, MA. Growing up between Missouri, New Jersey, and Cambodia cultivated her interest in the nuances of identity and belonging. She brings this curiosity to her work covering a range of... MORE

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 2: Ronilda O...e Park for The Washington Post)

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 2: Ronilda Oliverra, 53, receives her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Brazilian Worker Center in Boston, MA, on April 2, 2021. The Brazilian Worker Center is an immigrant rights advocacy organization that held its second mobile COVID-19 vaccination event at its headquarters on Friday. (Photo by Sophie Park for The Washington Post)

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 2: Andressa ...e Park for The Washington Post)

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 2: Andressa Sousa, 19, films her mother Maria Sousa, 43, receiving her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Brazilian Worker Center in Boston, MA, on April 2, 2021. The Brazilian Worker Center is an immigrant rights advocacy organization that held its second mobile COVID-19 vaccination event at its headquarters on Friday. (Photo by Sophie Park for The Washington Post)

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 2: A volunte...e Park for The Washington Post)

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 2: A volunteer at the Brazilian Worker Center prepares to seat individuals in a waiting room at a mobile COVID-19 vaccination event in Boston, MA, on April 2, 2021. (Photo by Sophie Park for The Washington Post)

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 2: Ana Julia...e Park for The Washington Post)

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 2: Ana Julia Goncalves, 8, stands outside the room where her parents received their first doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Brazilian Worker Center in Boston, MA, on April 2, 2021. The Brazilian Worker Center is an immigrant rights advocacy organization that held its second mobile COVID-19 vaccination event at its headquarters on Friday. (Photo by Sophie Park for The Washington Post)

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 2: Natalicia...e Park for The Washington Post)

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 2: Natalicia Tracy, executive director of the Boston Worker Center, oversaw the distribution of approximately 200 Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in Boston, MA, on April 2, 2021. The Brazilian Worker Center is an immigrant rights advocacy organization that held its second mobile COVID-19 vaccination event at its headquarters on Friday. (Photo by Sophie Park for The Washington Post)

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sophie park

Apr 11, 2021

For immigrants, IDs prove to be a barrier to a dose of protection

Immigrants have been turned away from pharmacies and other places after being asked for driver’s licenses, Social Security numbers or health insurance cards — specific documentation not mandated by states or the federal government but often requested at vaccination sites across the country, including right down the road from here. Often the request comes in English, a language many of the vaccine-seekers don’t fully understand.

Some state agencies and businesses that provide vaccinations have acknowledged the problem and vowed that it will stop.

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