States are looking to help their vulnerable communities as vaccine distribution ramps up

Primary tabs

Sat, 2021-02-06 12:38 — mike kraft

States are looking to help their vulnerable communities as vaccine distribution ramps up As officials make strides to improve accessibility to Covid-19 vaccines in the United States, some states are turning their focus to the underserved and vulnerable communities that have not yet been eligible for protection. Madeline Holcombe, CNN CNN

(CNN) As officials make strides to improve accessibility to Covid-19 vaccines in the United States, some states are turning their focus to the underserved and vulnerable communities that have not yet been eligible for protection.

Though coronavirus vaccine administration is not at President Joe Biden's hoped-for level of 1.5 million per day, the US has gotten closer, having averaged 1.3 million new shots a day over the last week, according to federal data.

Until now, the sluggish pace of distribution had most states' demand for vaccines exceeding their supply as they raced to protect their first-priority populations, often healthcare workers and older Americans.

Now New York, with about 75% of hospital workers inoculated, may become the first state to offer vaccine access to people with the simultaneous presence of two or more medical conditions, no matter their age. The governor's office listed cancer, chronic kidney disease, pulmonary disease and heart conditions as some of the comorbidities and underlying conditions that the state will use to determine eligibility for the Covid-19 vaccine.

And in Texas, the Houston Health Department said Friday that it will prioritize "vulnerable populations" and "underserved communities" as it receives additional vaccine allotments.

When it comes to reaching the underserved, such as people who are homeless, those without insurance and migrant workers, local pharmacies and health centers are a better option than trying to "reinvent the wheel" with mass vaccination sites, Adm. Dr. Brett Giroir said in a radio interview aired Friday.

"I think trying to set up a big federal site in the middle of Dallas that will immunize 10,000 a day, that's much less amenable," the former Health and Human Services assistant secretary said on SiriusXM's "Doctor Radio Reports." "It's not meeting people where they are, and it's much less efficient than having the distributed network that we've already established and have been using for decades." ...

See Link to full story for graph: https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/06/health/us-coronavirus-saturday/index.html

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags: