Nightmare of confusing tech, guidelines thwart Bay Area seniors trying to get vaccinated
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Caregivers help Devi Kamala stand after she received her COVID-19 vaccination at the On Lok Pace senior center in Fremont.Nina Riggio / Special to The Chronicle
Arlene Moon, called “Goochie” by her family, is a 95-year-old great-great-grandmother with chronic lung disease. She’s exactly the kind of person California wants to vaccinate but it took countless calls and the advocacy of her great-granddaughter waiting in line for an hour at a clinic to get her a shot.
Moon has short-term memory loss and can’t navigate a plethora of websites. She can’t drive herself to get a vaccine and would have trouble, given her balance issues, if she had to stand in line. That’s if she can even get a slot, since her luck depends on her location and health care provider.
The family of five generations living together in the Belle Haven neighborhood of Menlo Park has all gone through a frustrating ’emotional rollercoaster’ to get the potentially life-saving photo for the matriarch. In a recent video call, Moon strongly agreed that the process was frustrating and confusing.
“The people who are most vulnerable are those who will suffer disproportionately,” said her great-granddaughter Vanessa Bain, sitting next to her. “What happens to seniors who are alone or to people with physical or developmental disabilities who are trying to stand up for themselves?”
California health care providers are desperately trying to get vaccination shots in their arms as soon as possible. As the numbers improve, an initially chaotic rollout created a confusing maze of different rules and guidelines depending on each province and provider. Now the state is prioritizing older people, but many are still struggling to make an appointment, let alone get the v
Frustration and confusion continue over the slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for the high-risk residents of long-term care facilities in California, and throughout the U.S.
For many other Bay Area seniors, getting a place in line has been a highly confusing process that often starts with false hope and leads to a dead end. My hope is that John Muir and Kaiser and these big health entities will step up and try and help problem solve through these folks, said Debbie Toth, CEO of Pleasant Hill-based Choice in Aging.
Despite Governor Gavin Newsom s announcement last week that all over 65 are now eligible for the vaccine, California officials announced yesterday they don t expect to vaccinate most people in that age group before June.
Lisa Baertlein, Deena Beasley
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LOS ANGELES, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A former Arkansas health official is sounding alarms about the pace of coronavirus vaccines being administered to residents of long-term care facilities under a U.S. plan that puts major pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens in charge of many of the shots.
Fewer than 10% of doses allocated to those Arkansas seniors have been administered, according to the state health department. The two pharmacies are working with about 40% of the state’s facilities. Some of those were told that they were scheduled for February or March, said Dr. Joe Thompson, former Arkansas surgeon general and chief executive of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement
A former Arkansas health official is sounding alarms about the pace of coronavirus vaccines being administered to residents of long-term care facilities under a U.S. plan that puts major pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens in charge of many of the shots.