Americans over the age of 65 are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in many states, but trying to get them has become a nightmare for many. Some elderly citizens have had to travel hundreds of kilometers to get the shots, and others say that even securing a meeting is difficult.
According to The Wall Street Journal, people in Texas are on several lists in grocery stores and clinics hoping to get a slot. In Nevada, online registration raises hopes from county websites to state websites and back.
“I figure out how to teach calculus,” said Lisa Crosby of Reno, Nevada. “But I can’t figure out how to vaccinate my parents.” Only about 40% of vaccines that have been distributed in the US have been administered, and while 30 states now allow those over 65 to join the vaccine eligibility list, along with health care workers and first responders, the process it left many of them frustrated.
In Illinois, 67-year-old Bryan Harvey, who is wheelchair bound, was unlucky enough to find an online meeting in his county. Eventually, his son intervened and worked day and night trying to secure a vaccine for his father, eventually catching a slot after repeatedly hitting the refresh button, according to the Journal.
Brain Ortiz, 65, connected every night at midnight, trying to get his COVID-19 vaccine. So far, the retired high school counselor who lives in Oceanside, New York, has managed to find appointments available just hours away from home.
According to Kaiser Health News, people who are not computer-savvy or may not even have access to computers or smartphones and those who lack transportation face an upward struggle to be inoculated.
As US states launch the COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 65 and over, seniors are struggling to figure out how to sign up for photos, according to reports. Most counties require individuals to apply for their photos online, but many older people find complicated procedures complicated and others do not have access to the Internet, especially people of color and the poor.
Dr. Anand Iyer, a pulmonologist in Alabama, runs a clinic for more than 200 undigested adults and says 70% of them are black and many are older.
“I would estimate that 10 to 20 percent are at risk of losing their vaccines because they are at home, living alone, without transportation, or without reliable social connections,” he said, according to KHN. “Unfortunately, these are the same factors that put them at risk for poor COVID-19 results.”
Language issues are also an obstacle, says Yanira Cruz, president and CEO of the Hispanic National Council for Aging. “I am very concerned that older adults who do not speak English fluently, who do not have a family member to help them surf online and who do not have access to private transport will be left out of the current launch,” she said. said.
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