Townhall features doctors discussing COVID-19 and the elderly
15th March 2021 · 0 Comments
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
BlackDoctor.org hosted a discussion panel on last Thursday night (March 4) called “Making It Plain: A Townhall for People in Aging Services” about the effects of COVID-19 on elderly populations, including members of underprivileged communities and nursing home residents.
The conversation started with Dr. Amanda Cohn, chief medical officer of the CDC’s Vaccine Task Force, discussing current COVID rates. She said the United States’ rates have improved since the December/January surge. But she added COVID-19 is still a major concern for the aging population. She said people over the age of 65 are 90 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than adults aged 18-29.
Many terrible COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Cohn said the data is still being analyzed, but she is optimistic that vaccines will help. “I strongly believe we’ll have evidence that vaccinations in long-term care facilities are having a real and positive impact,” said Cohn.
Doctors in the town hall emphasized that all three vaccines currently available to Americans (Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson) are effective tools in the fight against COVID-19. Cohn acknowledged that doctors are keeping an eye on mutations, and that it may be possible in the future to recommend booster shots to people who have already received vaccinations.
Dr. Cameron Webb, President Joe Biden’s senior policy advisor for COVID-19 equity, said the vaccine rollout is currently ahead of the Biden administration’s initial goal of 100 million doses in 100 days. He repeated President Biden’s recent statement that vaccines will be available to every American adult by the end of May. However, he urged against complacency.
“We’re not going to spike the football until this is done,” said Webb.
A major challenge for the elderly, especially in poorer communities, is a lack of both Internet access and computer literacy. This is a problem because most vaccination appointments must be set up online, and a lot of old people have trouble navigating these websites.
Webb said the government is reaching out to community-based and faith-based organizations to help the elderly sign up for vaccine appointments. These organizations will know how to directly reach people and can offer assistance navigating the registration process. These are also organizations elderly people will trust.
This sentiment was echoed by geriatrician Michael Wasserman.
Wasserman said getting vaccines should not be hard for people. Making it easy will make more people get vaccinated. The government should work to bring vaccines to vulnerable people to make the process easier for them.
Dr. Gloria Wilder, president and CEO of Core Health and Wellness Centers, said trust is an obstacle in vaccinating underserved communities. She said it’s important for the medical communities to listen to the public’s questions and concerns, then give honest answers. Doctors should not pretend to know something they do not know Dr. Greg Hall, an author and expert in Black American healthcare, said results will improve as more people get the vaccine and talk to people they know about taking the vaccine. He said that improvement is already happening.
“Studies show when people know someone who has taken the vaccine, they’re more apt to get it,” Hall said.
Dr. LaShawn McIver, director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Office of Minority Health, said the elderly should be aware of scammers looking to take advantage of the pandemic. She emphasized that the COVID-19 vaccines are free to everyone – the uninsured, the undocumented, the insured, Medicare and Medicaid patients. There are no exceptions to this.
Unfortunately, some scammers are trying to get patients’ Medicare information via phone or text by telling them they will put them on a list for vaccines or get them early access to vaccines.
“There should be no money exchange when someone is getting a vaccine,” said McIver. “You can’t pay to get early access to a vaccine or to be put on a list for vaccines…Don’t give any information to people who call or text asking for it.”
This article originally published in the March 15, 2021 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
