Trinity Health RN Kayla Bennett gives Hartford, Connecticut-based James Watts his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a neighborhood vaccination clinic at the Parker Memorial Community Center. Ryan Caron King / Connecticut hide caption
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Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
Trinity Health RN Kayla Bennett gives Hartford, Connecticut-based James Watts his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a neighborhood vaccination clinic at the Parker Memorial Community Center.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
A number of states are breaking federal guidelines and starting to vaccinate people by age group. This is being criticized by key workers and people with underlying illnesses getting back on line.
In Connecticut, officials say they are trying to balance justice and speed up the pace of vaccinations. Educators still have priority under a new vaccination schedule that began March 1, but key employees like grocers, security guards and janitors who would have been next in line will now have to wait until their age bracket is reached.
“I’m honestly very excited,” said Missy Giandurco, 41, who teaches eighth grade special education. “It’s been a very stressful year and the governor made the right choice by moving it forward a little faster.”
Someone who isn’t excited is DeShawn Brownell. His job as a security guard does not allow him any social distance. According to the previous plan, he would have been in the next group to be vaccinated, but he is 46 years old and has to wait.
“I’m disappointed. I’m a bit younger, but at the same time I have epilepsy. I have high blood pressure,” Brownell said. “What if something happens to me? I’m the one with the main income. It would affect my children, my wife and my outside family, like my mother, my father. It’s like a domino effect.”
Three other states have also made age-based prioritizations as they move into subsequent phases of their vaccine introduction. in the MainePeople aged 60 and over have been able to register for a vaccine since March 3rd. Rhode Island switches to an age-based system, but still prioritizes people with underlying diseases between 16 and 64 years of age. And from March 8th Vermont allows people aged 55 and over with certain high-risk health problems to register, and one week later extends eligibility to people aged 16 and over with certain medical conditions.
DeShawn Brownell, safety officer and union member of SEIU 32 BJ. Tony Spinelli / Connecticut Public Radio hide caption
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Tony Spinelli / Connecticut Public Radio
DeShawn Brownell, safety officer and union member of SEIU 32 BJ.
Tony Spinelli / Connecticut Public Radio
Under Connecticut’s new rollout plan, comorbidities or illnesses like Brownell won’t be a determining factor in eligibility. Brownell is a member of SEIU 32BJ, a union that represents bouncers, janitors and other domestic workers who are predominantly black and tan and who have lost seven members to COVID-19 in Connecticut.
“We are disappointed and shocked,” said 41-year-old union vice president Rochelle Palache.
“Our members are deemed essential, but the way they have been treated and the resources they have been offered just don’t match,” she added. “If they are important, they should be prioritized for vaccination.”
One-third of Connecticut’s population consists of a vital workforce and people at high risk of disease. And the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that Connecticut is dropped is to relieve the burden of the pandemic on them.
Age is one of the biggest contributors to the morbidity of COVID-19, according to state data: 96% of all deaths caused by the Connecticut pandemic are people aged 55 and over. And state officials expect the faster roll-out through the new age-based plan will ensure vaccines reach these hardest-hit communities.
Rochelle Palache, Vice President of SEIU 32 BJ. Your union has lost seven members to COVID-19 in Connecticut. Tony Spinelli / Connecticut Public Radio hide caption
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Tony Spinelli / Connecticut Public Radio
Rochelle Palache, Vice President of SEIU 32 BJ. Your union has lost seven members to COVID-19 in Connecticut.
Tony Spinelli / Connecticut Public Radio
Josh Geballe, the chief operating officer for the government of Governor Ned Lamont, argues that the need to review membership in key groups is slowing down efforts to ensure vaccine delivery quickly and fairly.
“To make sure we get everyone in there, regardless of what industry they’re in, regardless of what state of health they’re in, whether they’re employed or unemployed, or whether they have good access to health care or not – is This will help us to get the fairest result the quickest, “said Geballe.
Critics say the new age-based system discriminates against younger people with disabilities and underlying diseases. The nonprofit Disability Rights Connecticut has Filed a complaint with the US Bureau of Civil Rights on the state’s new age-based vaccine policy. The complaint asks the state to give priority to vulnerable people in younger age groups.
Greg Gonsalves, professor of epidemiology at Yale University, says the state’s new distribution system does not guarantee justice.
“If you have access to resources, have computer skills, and work your way through the system to register for vaccines, you come first no matter what your age group.” “said Gonsalves.
According to Gonsalves, an age-dependent rollout also disregards existing racial differences in terms of health.
“The risk of death for someone who is African American and is between 55 and 65 years old may be higher than for someone over 65,” he said.
