For VA, where veterans live, it is a bigger factor in rejecting the COVID vaccine than the breed

Veterans Affairs officials say they see some groups of veterans turn down opportunities to get the coronavirus vaccine, but they are not necessarily the people they expected to convince.

“In communities of color, we are actually surpassing what we are in America’s white population,” said Dr. Richard Stone, acting head of the Veterans Health Administration, testifying before the House Credit Committee on Friday. “I am very pleased with the way black and Hispanic veterans accept the vaccine.”

For months, health officials have warned that convincing minority groups across the country to receive the two-shot coronavirus vaccine could be a special challenge. A recent report from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, which seeks to find out why blacks were less likely to get the vaccine, found that several factors played a role in fueling the lack of confidence. .

“Between mistrust, misinformation and the management of COVID, which has not always protected the most vulnerable (think about unfair test allocations and vaccination sites), how surprising is it that black communities have less acceptance of the vaccine?” the authors of the study asked. A December poll by the Associated Press found that only 24 percent of black Americans and 34 percent of Hispanic Americans planned to receive the vaccine, as opposed to 53 percent of white Americans.

But Stone said fortunately the VA did not see the predicted problem. In contrast, the most reluctant groups in their work to date appear to be rural veterans, who may already face significant challenges in accessing healthcare and vaccine availability.

“In one area of ​​New York alone, more than 1,000 veterans over the age of 75 said ‘no thanks.’ And that surprised us, “he said.

Kameron Matthews, assistant undersecretary for health at VA, said officials have begun gathering focus groups on the reasons behind the vaccine’s hesitation, as “our rural populations in all age groups have differences that they certainly need to address.” we approach them ”.

×

Giving us your email, choose the Early Bird Brief.

The department has already administered about 2 million doses of the vaccine since mid-December. In some locations, almost all VA staff and high-risk veteran patients have already completed the two-dose regimen.

But Stone said getting vaccines from veterans in rural areas remains a “Herculean effort,” especially given that early versions of the vaccine require super-cooled storage temperatures.

“It was a difficult one,” he said. “We don’t do so well with rural veterans and we get to them the way we want to.”

Members of Congress have speculated that the issue of lower vaccine acceptance in rural areas may not be related to mistrust, but to travel issues.

Even though mobile veterans ‘centers have helped push VA totals to more than 300 distribution sites across the country, getting a vaccination program can still be a few hours’ journey for veterans, many of whom are elderly.

Stone promised further investigations and improvements in the coming weeks. The department expects to distribute vaccines to nearly 7 million people in the coming months, covering almost every veteran who is an active user of VA health care services.

However, lawmakers have expressed concern that other veterans who do not regularly use VA healthcare but do not have access to vaccines elsewhere may be left out. Stone said decisions about it will be made available to the vaccine.

“Our ability to reach this veteran population is based entirely on supply,” he said. “Our desire to introduce the vaccine to as many veterans as possible.”

More than 220,000 VA patients have contracted coronavirus in the past 11 months and more than 10,100 have died from virus-related complications.