Two months after the first COVID-19 injections were given, the race to vaccinate older Americans is gaining momentum, with more than a third of people over 65 having received their first dose in states providing data.
The finding comes from an Associated Press analysis of information from 27 states where data is available. Those states account for just over half of all first-time doses administered nationwide.
“This is very good news. This is a sign that we are doing well, ”said Ali Mokdad, professor of health metric sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. The hesitancy to get vaccinated is diminishing quickly as older Americans talk to their vaccinated friends, he said. “They look at people who they know are getting the vaccine and see that it is safe.”
The effort is uneven, with many other states still lagging behind in terms of vaccinations of the higher-risk population.
Mokdad added, “We can do better. I can’t wait for the day when anyone who wants the vaccine can get the vaccine. The system we have works. We must continue to push for more vaccines. “
The proportion of vaccines given to people 65 and older varies. It’s about three-quarters of all first-dose admissions in Florida and more than two-thirds in North Carolina.
In Indiana, Alaska and West Virginia, nearly half of the population aged 65 and older has received the first dose. In North Carolina, Louisiana, Colorado, Florida, and Utah, about a third of that population has received the first dose.
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Nebraska, and Maryland are at the bottom, with 20% or less of the population aged 65 and over. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s administration and a bipartisan group of state lawmakers said on Wednesday they would create a vaccine task force that will brainstorm ways to speed up the delivery of COVID-19 shots.
As of Wednesday, the federal government had distributed 46.4 million doses of vaccine to states and other jurisdictions, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, nearly 34 million people, or 10% of the US population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Nearly 10.5 million people, or 3% of the population, have received both doses.
President Joe Biden, who plans to reduce supply bottlenecks, announced on Thursday that by the end of the summer, the US will have enough supplies of the two-dose vaccine to inoculate 300 million Americans. He said the US has made contractual commitments from Moderna and Pfizer to deliver the 600 million doses by the end of July – more than a month earlier than initially expected.
Older Americans bear the brunt of deaths and hospitalizations from virus, which has claimed more than 473,000 lives in the US About 80% of people who died from COVID were adults aged 65 and over.
There isn’t enough data yet to analyze whether vaccination reduces infections and deaths in that age group, Mokdad said. But his research center, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, plans to look into that in the coming weeks.
Experts recommend that people continue to wear masks and take social distance even after receiving COVID-19 recordings. Although recipients are expected to achieve some level of protection within a few weeks of the first exposure, full protection may not occur until a few weeks after the second exposure. It is unclear whether vaccinated people can still spread the virus.
Still, the vaccines have already had a real impact on the lives of older Americans.
Stephanie LaBumbard, 80, spent most of the past year alone and separated from family at home in Cadillac, Michigan. Now she’s feeling a surge of positivity after receiving her second dose of the vaccine.
“I’m not free at home yet, but I’m in much better shape,” said LaBumbard. She has yet to change her cautious behavior but is making plans to do so and couldn’t be happier about it. Being able to go out with friends again seems like “just an absolute miracle”.
“It’s so great to realize we can get back to normal or something.”
She is especially happy to be able to personally worship at her church, where she will be returning on Sunday after participating through Zoom for months. She had to stop volunteering at a hospital and get coffee and eat with friends, but most of all she missed her family.
‘I was alone on Thanksgiving. I was with one of my sons for Christmas. Especially when you reach my age … I feel young, but you don’t know, this could be my last Christmas, ” she said, adding that she is satisfied with the distribution of vaccines in Michigan. “It seems to me that they have done a fantastic job here. They had organized everything so well. “
It’s a different story in rural North Carolina’s Warren County, where Leticia Bonilla is frustrated with the inability to schedule a vaccination appointment locally and would rather not queue at a mass vaccination clinic in another county.
The 66-year-old retired teacher said the nurse at her doctor’s office offered to get her on a waiting list, but she declined because it felt too insecure.
“I said, ‘Well, how long is the list?’ She said, “I don’t know. We don’t have any vaccines yet.” And I said, “Well, why would I put my name there?” … And I just hung up, “Bonilla said.
The distribution process of vaccines in North Carolina is through a decentralized system that allows provincial health departments and vaccine suppliers to develop their own processes for making vaccine appointments.
Lynn Bender and her husband, Mark Bender, both 70, received their second vaccination dose two weeks ago. The couple are from Monroe Township, New Jersey, but live about 10 weeks a year in a retirement community in Coconut Creek, Florida, which Broward County used for a test rollout. They should be a part of it and they are happy to be surrounded by people who have also been vaccinated.
“It’s really nice that at least if you feel safe, you have someone you can be safe with,” Lynn Bender said. “We are now ready to socialize, play cards or play mahjong with someone.”
They have especially missed attending arts and crafts fairs year-round and supporting artists and craftsmen across the country, something they look forward to when they can lower their guard further.
“We really haven’t changed much, everyone is still cautious,” she said. “But as one of my friends says, you feel better when you know you’re not going to die.”
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The Associated Press writers, Kelli Kennedy in Miami and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles, contributed to this report.