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WASHINGTON (AP) – The rapid expansion of COVID-19 vaccination to seniors across the United States has resulted in bottlenecks, system crashes and feelings of resentment in many states due to the overwhelming demand for vaccines.
The Mississippi Department of Health stopped making new appointments the same day it started accepting them due to a “massive surge” in requests. People had to wait hours to book their vaccinations through a public website or toll-free number on Tuesday and Wednesday, and many were kicked from the site due to technical issues and had to start over.
In California, counties have requested more coronavirus vaccine to reach millions of their seniors. Hospitals in South Carolina ran out of appointment slots within hours. Telephone lines were blocked in Georgia.
“It’s chaos,” said Joan Jeffri, 76, a New York resident, who had to deal with broken internet links in hospital and unanswered phone calls before her daughter helped her. to get an appointment. “If they want to vaccinate 80% of the population, good luck if that is the system. We will be here in five years.”
Until recent days, healthcare workers and nursing home patients had priority in most parts of the U.S. But amid frustration over the slow deployment, states have opened up line to many of the country’s 54 million seniors with the blessing of President Donald Trump’s administration, though the minimum age varies from place to place, at 65, 70 or more.
New Jersey on Thursday extended vaccination to people aged 16 to 65 with certain medical conditions, including up to 2 million smokers, who are more prone to health complications.
The United States, meanwhile, recorded 3,848 deaths on Wednesday, up from a historic high of 4,327 the day before, according to Johns Hopkins University. The country’s total death toll from COVID-19 has exceeded 385,000.
President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus plan on Thursday that includes ramping up vaccinations. Called the “American Rescue Plan,” the legislative proposal would meet Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccines by the 100th day of his administration.
More than 11.1 million Americans, or more than 3% of the American population, received their first vaccine, a gain of about 800,000 from the day before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. The goal of inoculating between 70% and 85% of the population to obtain collective immunity and overcome the epidemic is still several months away.
The hard-hit county of Los Angeles, the country’s most populous county with 10 million people, said it could not immediately provide vaccines to the elderly because it had only vaccinated about a quarter of its residents. 800,000 health workers.
“We’re not done with our healthcare workers, and we actually don’t have enough vaccines right now to be able to act any faster,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “We have not received a response from the state on the availability of vaccines and how they would be distributed.”
Santa Clara County health officials said the county of 2 million people only had enough vaccines to immunize people 75 and older, not the population 65 and older.
“It’s almost like a beauty pageant. And it shouldn’t be a beauty pageant,” county supervisor Cindy Chavez said. “It’s about life and death.”
In Mississippi, officials said the new appointments will likely have to wait for an expected vaccine shipment in mid-February.
In South Carolina, Kershaw Health in Camden pleaded with people not to call their hospitals or doctors to schedule vaccination appointments after receiving more than 1,000 requests in two days. State health officials said their hotline received 5,000 calls on Wednesday.
Francis Clark said she made several attempts to make an appointment for her 81-year-old mother, who lives alone outside Florence, South Carolina, and does not have internet access. But the local hospital did not open on Wednesday, Clark said, and other vaccination sites are too far away.
“My mom can’t drive in Charleston,” Clark said. “She’s too old.”
Allison Salerno, an audio producer from Athens, Georgia, said she spent most of the day calling her state’s health department to get her 89-year-old mother’s vaccine appointment .
“I started calling at 8:30 am and on the 67th call I was finally put on hold,” Salerno said. “I had already pre-registered it two weeks ago online, but never received a confirmation.”
After Salerno spent 65 minutes on hold, someone finally came in line and gave his mother a date on Saturday.
“My mother hasn’t been out since the pandemic started,” Salerno said. “She’s a very healthy woman and she wants to go to the grocery store, she wants to have her hair done.”
Meanwhile, some states, like Minnesota, are waiting before they open the doors.
“As we learn more, we will strive to make sure that everyone who is eligible for a vaccine knows how, where and when they can get the vaccine,” the Department of Health said. Status in an email. “The opportunity for everyone to get vaccinated will come; it will just take a while.”
Arizona, which has recorded the nation’s highest COVID-19 diagnosis rate over the past week, will begin enrolling people 65 and older next week. He also plans to open a vaccination site at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in addition to one that distributes thousands of shots a day to the home of the NFL Arizona Cardinals.
To speed up the pace of vaccinations, South Carolina has changed the rules for medical students, retired nurses and other professionals to administer vaccines.
California lawmakers are stepping up pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom to also extend permission for who can administer injections to nursing students, retired medical workers, firefighters, and members of the National Guard with a disability. medical training.
Newsom said the state’s priority was to deliver vaccines “as quickly as possible to those who suffer the most serious consequences.” He urged patience for those who are not yet eligible, saying, “Your turn is coming.”
Jeffri, the New Yorker, spent several days trying to book a vaccination and was given a slot once, only to get a follow-up message saying they didn’t have the doses. Finally, with some research online with her daughter, the retired arts administration professor secured a date for her first shot – in two weeks.
“It’s a relief,” said Jeffri, who wrote to Governor Andrew Cuomo about his ordeal. “But I’m not sure I trust him until he’s done.”
Copyright © 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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