Race to vaccinate older Americans progresses in many states

Two months after the first injections of COVID-19 were given, the race to vaccinate older Americans is gathering momentum, with more than a third of people 65 and over receiving their first dose in states that have provided data.

The result comes from an Associated Press analysis of information from 27 states where data is available. These states account for just over half of all first doses administered nationally.

“This is very good news. It is a sign that we are doing things right,” said Ali Mokdad, professor of health sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. Reluctance to immunize is rapidly decreasing as older Americans talk to their friends who have been vaccinated, he said, “They watch people they know get the vaccine and see that it is safe.”

The effort is uneven, with many other states still lagging behind when it comes to vaccinations of the high-risk population.

Mokdad added: “We can do better. I can’t wait for the day when everyone who wants the vaccine can get the vaccine. The system we have in place is working. We must continue to push for more vaccines. “

The proportion of vaccines given to those 65 and over varies. That’s about three-quarters of all first-dose injections in Florida and over two-thirds in North Carolina.

In Indiana, Alaska and West Virginia, almost half of the population 65 and over received the first dose. In North Carolina, Louisiana, Colorado, Florida and Utah, about a third of this population received the first dose.

Oregon, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Nebraska, and Maryland are on the lower end, with 20% or less of the population 65 and over. The administration of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and a bipartisan group of state lawmakers said on Wednesday they would create a vaccine task force that would consider ways to deliver COVID-19 vaccines more quickly.

As of Wednesday, the federal government had distributed 46.4 million doses of the 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 U.S. population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Almost 10.5 million people, or 3% of the population, received both doses.

President Joe Biden, who is working to ease supply bottlenecks, announced on Thursday that the United States will have enough two-dose vaccine by the end of the summer to inoculate 300 million Americans. He said the United States had secured contractual commitments from Moderna and Pfizer to deliver the 600 million doses by the end of July – more than a month earlier than originally planned.

Older Americans have suffered the brunt of deaths and hospitalizations from the virus, which has killed more than 473,000 in the United States About 80% of people who died from COVID were adults 65 and older.

There is not yet enough data to analyze whether vaccination reduces infections and deaths in this age group, Mokdad said. But its research center, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, plans to study this in the coming weeks.

Experts recommend people continue to wear masks and practice social distancing even after receiving COVID-19 snapshots. While recipients are expected to achieve some level of protection within two weeks of the first stroke, full protection may not occur until a few weeks after the second stroke. It is not known whether people who have been vaccinated can still spread the virus.

Yet vaccines have already had a real impact on the lives of older Americans.

Stephanie LaBumbard, 80, has spent most of the last year alone and separated from her family at her home in Cadillac, Michigan. Now she is feeling a surge of positivity after receiving her second dose of the vaccine.

“I’m not home free yet, but I feel much better,” LaBumbard said. She hasn’t changed her cautious demeanor yet, but is considering doing so and couldn’t be happier about it. Being able to go out with friends again seems “just an absolute miracle.”

“It’s so wonderful to realize that we can go back to normal or something like that.”

She is especially happy to be able to worship in person at her church, where she will return on Sunday after participating through Zoom for months. She had to give up volunteering at a hospital and having coffee and dinner with friends, but she particularly missed her family.

“I was alone at Thanksgiving. I was with only one of my sons for Christmas. Especially when you are my age … I feel young, but you don’t know, it could be my last Christmas, ”she said, adding that she was happy with the vaccine distribution in Michigan. “It seems to me that they have done a fantastic job here. They had everything organized so well.

It’s a different story in rural Warren County in North Carolina, where Leticia Bonilla was frustrated with the inability to make an appointment for a local vaccine and would rather not stand in line at a mass vaccination clinic. in another county.

The retired teacher, 66, said the nurse at her doctor’s office offered to help her get on a waiting list, but she declined because it felt too much uncertain.

“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 in there?” … And I just hung up, ”Bonilla said.

North Carolina’s vaccine distribution process goes through a decentralized system that allows county health departments and vaccine suppliers to develop their own vaccine appointment processes.

Lynn Bender and her husband, Mark Bender, both 70, received their second dose of the vaccine two weeks ago. The couple are from Monroe Township, New Jersey, but for about 10 weeks a year they live in a retirement community in Coconut Creek, Fla., Which Broward County used for a test deployment. They must be part of it and they are happy to be surrounded by people who have also been vaccinated.

“It’s very nice that at least when you feel safe you have someone to be safe with,” said Lynn Bender. “We’re at the point now that we can socialize with someone, play cards or play mahjong.”

They have particularly missed attending arts and crafts fairs and supporting artists and artisans across the country throughout the year, which they look forward to doing when they can let their guard down. .

“We really haven’t changed that much, everyone is still careful,” she said. “But like a friend of mine said, knowing you’re not going to die makes you feel better.”

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Associated Press editors Kelli Kennedy in Miami and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.