Other Papers Say: Prepare for vaccine surge By Seattle Times
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The following editorial originally appeared in The Seattle Times.
More COVID-19 vaccines are heading to Washington, but Washington’s public health officials must fix the fragmented and frustrating system that, for vaccine seekers, seems as daunting as racing voracious bots for sought-after concert tickets.
A new state health director and providers are laying plans to address equity and logistical challenges across public health agencies, private providers and state-led vaccination sites. That’s good. The bad news is just how much more progress is needed.
Nearly two-thirds of the more than 600 people responding to the Metropolitan King County Council chair’s Feb. 6 survey said it was “hard” to get the COVID-19 vaccine, even though they were eligible. Several reported spending hours per day over several weeks searching for an appointment. Some reported searching outside King County in the
Washington’s immigrant and refugee elders face challenges COVID-19 vaccine access By Melissa Hellmann, The Seattle Times
Published: February 8, 2021, 7:51am
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By early December, Trang Tu had quarantined with her mother in their Seattle home for nearly a year, providing round-the-clock supervision for the 90-year-old with advanced dementia that would have been too costly at a nursing facility.
Since caring for elders is a strong cultural value for Tu, a Vietnamese refugee who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s, she saw the COVID-19 vaccine as the pair’s only hope for returning to the outside world.
Tu was then alarmed to learn older adults in home care were not prioritized by the state’s December draft vaccine plan. She felt invisible.