Americans over 65 are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in many states, but getting them has become a nightmare for many. Some elderly citizens have had to travel hundreds of miles to get their photo, and others say it is even difficult to get an appointment.
According to The Wall Street Journal, people in Texas register on multiple lists in grocery stores and clinics in hopes of getting a lock. In Nevada, online registration is bouncing hopefully from state websites to state websites and back again.
“I can figure out how to teach calculus,” said Lisa Crosby of Reno, Nevada. “But I don’t know how to get my parents vaccinated.” Only about 40% of the vaccines distributed in the US have been administered, and while 30 states now allow people over 65 to join the list of vaccines along with health professionals and first responders, the process has frustrated many of them.
In Illinois, 67-year-old Bryan Harvey, who is wheelchair-bound, had little luck finding an online appointment in his county. Eventually, his son stepped in and worked day and night to get a vaccine for his father, and eventually pulled out a lock after repeatedly hitting the refresh button, according to the Journal.
Brain Ortiz, 65, logs in every night at midnight to get his COVID-19 vaccine. So far, the retired high school counselor living in Oceanside, New York, has only been able to find available appointments hours away from his home.
According to Kaiser Health News, people who are not computer literate, or may not even have access to computers or smartphones, and those who do not have transportation, face an uphill battle to get vaccinated.
As states in the US roll out the COVID-19 vaccine for people 65 and older, seniors are trying to figure out how to sign up to get their photos, reports said. Most counties require individuals to request their photos online, but many older people find the complicated procedures disgusting, and others don’t have access to the Internet, especially people of color and those who are poor.
Dr. Anand Iyer, an Alabama pulmonologist, runs a clinic for more than 200 needy adults and says 70% of them are black and many are older.
“I estimate that 10% to 20% are at risk of missing out on vaccines because they are housebound, live alone, have no transportation, or have no reliable social connections,” he said, according to KHN. “Unfortunately, those are the same factors that put them at risk for poor results from COVID-19.”
Language issues are also an obstacle, said Yanira Cruz, president and CEO of the National Hispanic Council on Aging. “I am very concerned that older adults who are not fluent in English, who do not have a family member to help them navigate online and who do not have access to private transportation, will be banned during the current rollout,” she said.
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