Lawmakers ask Charlie Baker to rescind eligibility for new companion vaccine

More than 20 state representatives are calling on Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker to rescind a new policy that allows younger companions to receive the COVID-19 vaccine with residents over 75, amid concerns about equality and security.

“The strategy allows younger, healthier residents to be vaccinated before the elderly, essential workers and others at greater risk of death / illness,” said state deputy Tami Gouveia, a Democrat from Acton and a former public health official, who led a letter Thursday asking Baker to stop the “companion system”.

The new eligibility, which went into effect on Thursday, allows individuals of any age to accompany a resident over 75 with an appointment at one of the state’s mass vaccination sites to schedule their own appointment to receive the vaccine at the same time. The announcement was made on Wednesday, almost two weeks after the state began allowing all residents over 75 to start registering for consultations.

Baker argued that allowing younger individuals accompanying members of the vulnerable group to receive a vaccine will allow the state to more quickly expand eligibility to other groups prioritized in Phase 2 of implementation, such as people over 65, essential workers and those with conditions healthy. During a news conference on Wednesday, he rejected the notion that politics would mean that these groups would have to wait longer.

“I think exactly the opposite,” he told reporters after announcing the new policy. “I think the most likely thing to happen is that you will get many more members of the 75-year-old community to agree to come and get vaccinated, because they will be willing to ask someone to help them accompany them. And that will make it easier to move on to the next round. “

However, lawmakers say the escort system “fails to deal with logistical, financial and other barriers faced by many elderly people – especially elderly people of color – those who are low-income and those who cannot travel long distances due to illness or fragility.”

“The vaccination plan and the latest companion vaccination strategy benefit families who have a reliable car, those who can be absent from work and those who have no other professional, family or health obligations,” said the letter. “In other words, the companionship system is more likely to benefit white and wealthier residents. This only exacerbates health inequalities in our state and the burden of COVID-19 in our black and brown communities. “

While the state continues to deal with the limited supply of vaccine doses, lawmakers noted that it was “possible” that half of the 50,000 new appointments that were made available on Thursday at the state’s mass vaccination sites could go to healthy adults, including grandchildren in the least vulnerable age group 18 to 30.

They also raised the possibility that a single elderly person could have early access to the vaccine for several family members, bringing “a companion for the first dose and a different companion for the second dose”.

Lawmakers also argued that the strategy could be “dangerous” for the elderly, looking at strangers on Craigslist, Facebook and other sites immediately started posting offers this week to provide rides – some with payment offers – for the elderly so they could also get the vaccine.

“We have already seen our elderly people being hit by blows related to the vaccine and the COVID-19 treatment,” said the letter. “This could open up additional opportunities for individuals with bad intentions to attack elderly people who are desperate to get the vaccine and do not have transportation to do it themselves, or who are desperate for additional financial support and will accept compensation for bringing a stranger along as their partner . “

To address the “fundamental factors” that contribute to the fact that some elderly people have not yet received the vaccine, the group said that the state should allocate resources and doses to support doses of the vaccine through local health departments, which have accumulated experience and relationship in their respective communities.

“They have been doing nothing for weeks but begging to do it,” the letter said.

They also argued that Baker should leverage “the capacity of local housing authorities, senior care centers, community centers, community hospitals, health centers and other local organizations to provide vaccines”, although administration officials said the vaccination sites in are a more efficient model.

“We share his commitment to vaccinate as many people as soon as possible,” the letter said on Thursday. “But, we encourage you to balance the strong desire to improve our per capita vaccination rates with an unwavering commitment to vaccinate those who are the most vulnerable and who have been historically marginalized.”