Falling Through Cracks': Vaccine Bypasses Some Older Adults

An untold number of older Americans are unable to get COVID-19 vaccines because they are too overwhelmed, too weak, or too impoverished to fend for themselves, reports the Associated Press . Nonprofits, churches, and advocacy groups are racing to find and inoculate isolated seniors. Compounding this situation is a wide gap between vaccine supply and demand in almost every part of the country. This imbalance tends to favor healthier seniors with resources "who are able to jump in their car at a moment's notice and drive two hours," said James Stowe with an association of city and county governments in the bistate Kansas City area. Some older adults who have missed vaccines are so disconnected they do not realize that they qualify, while others do but do not know how to make a vaccination appointment, and cannot get to one without Internet service or e-mail. Still others cannot venture outside their homes due to serious health issues, or because their fear of exposure to COVID-19 is insurmountable. In the hope of addressing access inequity, the Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will partner with health insurers to help vulnerable seniors get vaccinated.