Make Vaccines More Accessible; Many Essential Workers Still Unvaccinated, Can't Get Time Off Work

[appalachiablue]

Last edited Fri Jun 4, 2021, 07:44 AM - Edit history (1)

- MAKING VACCINES MORE ACCESSIBLE. Many essential workers still aren’t vaccinated. It’s not because they don’t want to be — it’s because they can’t get time off work. OtherWords.org, By Jill Richardson | May 26, 2021. -Edited.

After getting vaccinated, I eagerly returned to some parts of normal life, expecting the essential workers I interacted with would be already vaccinated. They became eligible for the vaccine before I did, and our county has one of the highest rates of vaccinations in the country. I was surprised when a few people told me they weren’t vaccinated. They wanted to get vaccinated, and planned to, but they couldn’t afford to risk feeling sick from side effects for 2 days while they had to work.
It’s sad and ironic that the very people who most need vaccines because of their jobs can’t get them because they can’t take time off work. The few people I met in this predicament are not alone.

People without college degrees are less likely to be vaccinated than people with college degrees, even after accounting for their political party or race. Vaccination rates also correspond to income: the more you make, the more likely you are to be vaccinated. Among people who say they are willing to get the vaccine, about three-quarters of people with household income under $25,000 have received at least one dose, compared to 93% of people with household income of $200,000 or more.

All in all, 30 million Americans want to get vaccinated but so far have been unable.

They gave several reasons: some don’t have transportation to a vaccination site, others have work or family obligations, and some face disabilities, language barriers, or other difficulties. How do we help everyone who wants a vaccine to get one? The people I know who got vaccinated early spent a lot of time searching for appts. online & sometimes found them in far-off towns they had to drive to. Later, our county offered online registration & emailed invitations to make an appt. at a central, drive-thru site- but you didn’t get much choice about where or when. You needed to speak English & have internet access. Often, you needed a car. You needed flexibility to take an appointment whenever you could get one. - Potential side effects after your shot: some people have none, others get a day or 2 of flu-like symptoms. It's manageable, but you may need to take a sick day - and 25% of the US civilian workforce doesn’t get paid sick leave.

Our society often forces low-income people to sacrifice long-term needs in favor of short-term survival. - The next step in vaccine rollout must be expanding accessibility. It's becoming easier to get an appointment in most places, a plus. Walk-in appointments are expanding, so you have more say over where and when you get the shot. But we should do more. For example: - Provide multilingual vaccine information, make sure vaccination sites are accessible for people with disabilities, or offer in-home vaccination & mobile vaccine clinics. - Employers can help too- arrange on-site vaccination for employees or help with transportation. They should also offer paid time off to get vaccinated & recover from side effects.

The bigger picture is that we need to work toward a less unequal society which has been made worse by the pandemic. We can and should do better.

https://otherwords.org/making-vaccines-more-accessible/

- Related Posts: - The Coming Battle Over Vaccines. -Viruses Know No Borders. Vaccines Shouldn’t Either. - My Vaccine Experience. - Georgia’s Educational Neglect

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. I find this hard to believe. Vaccines are available everywhere, now.

I think most employers would want their workers to get the vaccine. Check with HR....I bet they can help.

[appalachiablue]

2. For many people in this country, esp. gig workers

and even standard workers there is no functional 'HR' Human Resources office to provide assistance.

People in many jobs are reluctant if not afraid to have to take off a day or two in many jobs- it exists. As stated, 25% of the civilian workforce in the US doesn't have paid sick leave. Even in office and professional jobs, for decades I've known people who were reticent about taking leave for illness or personal reasons because it was discouraged - ask a teacher, a parent, or the relative of a sick family member.

While employed at the professional level, in the private and public sector, it was difficult for me to get off once for an abscessed tooth (with a vy good attendance record); another time a supervisor didn't want to give me leave for jury duty when summoned, but she finally relented..

There have been legitimate barriers and obstacles to getting the shot for many, I was one of them for a while due to schedule and transportation matters. As the author emphasizes, we need to improve vaccination efforts, pronto. The new incentives of cash, gifts and more seem to be helping.

- Two weeks ago maintenance workers were tasked to see if they could find the source of a (non emergency) leak in a fairly small space within a community property facility. There were 10- 15 people nearby. After a short while, I noticed the maintenance men weren't masked. Both were over 30, and when I asked why and if they were vaccinated, one said he was, the other said he wanted to. (The first worker lied).

Their employer is a multi million dollar corporation that can well afford to give them time off, even pay for the cost of the vaccine, along with re-emphasizing and enforcing the need to social distance, wear masks and be vaccinated for obvious health and safety reasons.

[progree]

3. The COVID Vaccine Is Free, but Not Everyone Believes That, New York Times, 6/2/21

When Paul Moser considers getting a coronavirus vaccine, he also thinks about his outstanding medical debt: $1,200 from a few urology visits that he has been unable to pay off.

Moser, a 52-year-old gas station cashier in New York state, has friends who were surprised by bills for coronavirus tests and worries the same could happen with the vaccine. For now, he is holding off on getting his shot.

“We were told by the legislators that all the testing was supposed to be free, and then, surprise, it’s $150,” he said. “I agree it’s important to get vaccinated, but I don’t have a sense of urgency around it.”

... A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that about a third of unvaccinated adults were unsure whether insurance covered the new vaccine and were concerned they might need to pay for the shot. The concern was especially pronounced among Hispanic and Black survey respondents.

MORE: https://www.yahoo.com/news/covid-vaccine-free-not-everyone-114102581.html

People of color have lower vaccination rates (so its not just a redneck issue) --
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=15476897

Reasons (in that same thread):
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=15476917

Some of the reasons were pooh poohed as flimsy excuses, short-sighted and stupid (thus impugning people of color as being disproportionately flimsy excuse-makers, short-sighted and stupid). But like the article in the OP said, sometimes short-term survivor and paying this month's bills (and last months...) forces people to sacrifice what's best in the long run to make it to the end of the month with the electricity still connected.

[appalachiablue]

4. It's distressing that some people hear bad info.

and have many concerns and fears that put them off getting the vaccine. The idea that they'll be charged for the shot- not- is sad, or since they don't have a fixed address or permanent status the shot could mean headaches and more.

There are workers that can't take off from their job and lose pay, or if they do take the vaccine and become sick from side effects, things could be bad. It's vexing that we have a very large percentage of the workforce without paid sick leave, as noted.

Why don't more Americans realize the tight and hard existence of so many here- literally living paycheck to paycheck and one misstep away from doom.

Indeed, the 'unvaccinated'- not just a redneck thing, it's in different ethic groups for various reasons. I don't think it's mainly political in certain cases either. Thanks for posting the material and links with interesting info. I had seen a couple of the posts before more comments were added.

Anyway, here's to continued efforts at conquering the Covid beast!