‘Easier to win the Mega Millions lottery.’ Older Tri-Citians struggling to get COVID vaccine
The line to get a COVID-19 vaccine at the Tri-Cities Community Health clinic in Pasco started to form at 1 a.m. Friday.
It was Jan Pollick’s second day trying to get there early enough to get a number that would entitle her to get vaccinated sometime that day.
“I feel like it is easier to win the Mega Millions lottery than it is to get a vaccine for this virus,” said the 73-year-old Kennewick woman.
Hundreds like her came each morning last week to wait in the dark for the clinic to open at 7:30 a.m. Some were in their 80s.
On some days the Pasco clinic had 350 doses available. But Friday there were just under 100.
Finding a COVID vaccine has been particularly difficult for many of those newly eligible Jan. 18 in Washington state — those 65 and older.
They and people over 50 in multigenerational households are the first in the general public allowed to get vaccines — after health care workers and nursing home residents and workers.
Seniors are given priority because of their much higher risk of death from the coronavirus.
In the Tri-Cities area, 111 of the 265 who have died from complications of COVID-19 have been 80 and older. Another 76 victims were in their 70s.
But most places offering the vaccine so far do not have systems in place that are easily used by the elderly.
“We do know that our elderly can struggle with the technology for the mass vaccination site at the county (fairgrounds),” said Dr. Amy Person, health officer for Benton and Franklin counties.
Registration for a vaccination at the fairgrounds must be done online. When appointments open up they are posted without notice and usually go fast.
“I have friends who don’t have computers,” Pollick said. “They’ve made it very hard, very hard for the elderly.”
Others don’t have the stamina to stand in line or even wait in a car — sometimes many hours.
‘His legs gave out’
Juanito Marcial, 66, and Efigenia Marcial, 57, drove to Pasco from Benton City to be first in line at 1 a.m. Friday.
Benito Diaz, 54, of Pasco, got in line at 3:25 a.m., after arriving too late to get a number four days in a row. It would not have been so bad had there not been snow and rain earlier in the week, he said.
Clinic staff set up outdoor heaters about 6:30 a.m. Friday.
One man left because he was not dressed warmly enough and got too cold to stay, Diaz said.
Another man fainted, he said.
“I had to pick him up. He was standing here and went to sleep and his legs gave out,” Diaz said.
Debbie Duran of Richland brought her mother, Gloria Slane, 87, to get a vaccination.
“We got here at 3:30 a.m. and were told we were number 21 in line,” she said.
Linda Hanratty, 81, of Kennewick, waited in the car while her daughter Laurel McDonald, 61, kept her place in line.
Hanratty is temporarily using a wheelchair because she injured her foot.
“They focused really hard on developing the vaccine and not enough time developing a plan of action,” said her daughter.
Not enough vaccine
Pollick said she had gotten online and tried to get an appointment at places offering COVID vaccination appointments, rather than giving them first come, first serve. But she was not successful, even with her daughter trying to help her from Florida.
“We’re out trying to do the right thing and get vaccinations ... it’s just hard,” Pollick said.
Getting a vaccination will get easier as more of the vaccine to help prevent illness from the coronavirus is manufactured, said Dr. Person.
Now the vaccine supply is no match for demand, she said.
Just in Benton and Franklin counties more than 40,000 people became eligible to receive vaccines starting Jan. 18 because they area age 65 or older.
But hospitals and other medical providers are ready to start vaccinating, particularly those who can’t navigate online sign up systems or cannot wait in lines, as soon as enough supply is available that they receive their shipments of doses, Dr. Person said.
The Washington state Department of Health says it is looking for ways to make appointments for COVID vaccines more accessible and equitable.
Help for seniors
Michele Roberts, who’s leading COVID-19 vaccine planning and distribution at the state Department of Health (DOH), said the department is sharing information through area agencies on aging, senior centers, and other community partners in order to reach people 65 and older.
People without computer access can call the “COVID-19 Assistance Hotline” (1-800-525-0127, then press #) during regular business hours to sign up for a vaccine appointment at the Benton County Fairgrounds.
The same number can be used for help in navigating the state’s Phase Finder at FindYourPhaseWA.org.
The online tool can be used to determine whether people are eligible for the vaccine and, for those that are, provides a list of places submitted to the state that have received vaccine doses and might have them available.
But call volumes to the hotline number are high, with people reporting that they could not get through and some saying they did not receive a call back after they left their phone number.
Those with computer access also can check the Benton Franklin Health District list of Tri-Cities area places, including pharmacies and hospitals, where vaccine may be available. Go to bit.ly/BFHDvaccinesites.
An alternative is calling 211, a general helpline, said the state Department of Health. You can also text “vaccine” to 211–211.
Gov. Jay Inslee put some of the onus to help seniors unable to find the COVID vaccine on those who are younger or more computer literate.
Grandkids can help their grandparents, he suggested.
“One of the things — it’s like in any emergency, in an earthquake, or a mudslide at Oso — what I’ve learned is that a significant part of the rescue is by individuals, it’s by us,” he said. “It’s taking care of our neighbors, our relatives, extending a hand.”
He and other state officials urge patience, acknowledging that the struggle to find appointments is causing frustration.
“This is a moment in time where all of us can step up and help people,” Inslee said.