The New York Times
Seniors looking for vaccines have a problem: they can’t use the Internet
Annette Carlin feels trapped. Before the pandemic, 84-year-old Carlin loved hiking in Novato, California, with his grandchildren and dancing at the senior center. Since March, however, she has been trapped inside the house. She is looking forward to signing up for a vaccine and starting to get back to normal life. But making an appointment has been a technological nightmare. Carlin does not have the money to buy a computer and would not know how to surf the Internet in search of a photo, even if he could. Although members of her family can help her, she avoids seeing them as a safety measure. Subscribe to the New York Times newsletter The Morning “It’s very frustrating,” said Carlin on his flip phone. “I feel like everyone got the vaccine, and I don’t.” The chaotic launch of the vaccine came with a maze of confusing registration pages and clumsy health sites. And the technological expertise needed to navigate text alerts, push notifications and e-mail reminders that are second nature to the digital generation has put older adults like Carlin, who need the vaccine most, at a disadvantage. As a result, seniors without technical skills are missing out on life-saving photos. The digital divide between generations has always been striking, but the abrupt reduction in personal interactions by the pandemic has made this division even more apparent. Defenders of older Americans, 22 million of whom do not have broadband access at home, say it is ridiculous that a program aimed primarily at vaccinating vulnerable elderly people depends so much on Internet knowledge, Twitter ads and event pages online. “We are facing a crisis in which connectivity is a life and death alternative for people,” said Tom Kamber, executive director of Older Adults Technology Services, a nonprofit organization that trains seniors to use technology. “It couldn’t be much more severe than saying to people, ‘If you leave the house, you are likely to risk dying.’” People in nursing homes, among the first to be vaccinated, had a team to help them. But when vaccines were made available to a broader group of older adults in late December and early January, many who lived alone had to navigate alone. Federal agencies like the Administration for Community Living, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as nonprofit organizations, say they are doing what they can to guide older adults, but they are on the edge. (Seniors can call the Administration for Community Living Eldercare locator number for assistance at 1-800-677-1116.) “I don’t know where to go,” said Cheyrl Lathrop, a 74-year-old resident from Richmond, Virginia. , which saw younger, tech savvy people nearby find ways to get vaccinated. “I get frustrated with the computer and give up.” Some older people rely on younger relatives to browse websites and stay up all the time, hoping to book a place. Lathrop’s daughter Sheri Blume got an appointment for her mother after weeks of research. Terez Mays-Jones, from Alpharetta, Georgia, had a similar experience looking for pictures in Cincinnati, where his 73-year-old mother, Jacqueline Sims, lives. “It has become a secondary job,” said Mays-Jones, 53. “I was doing all of this research at all times of the day and night.” Sims knows Facebook and Instagram well, but sometimes he still has his daughter’s online help and said that older adults are often “intimidated” by technology. “At our age, we are not used to making so many mistakes, or we don’t want to admit our mistakes,” said Sims, who ended up guaranteeing a chance thanks to a tip from a cousin. Many seniors are comfortable sending text messages, tweeting and surfing the Internet. But for those who don’t, taking the time to learn a new skill often seems daunting, said Kamber. Technology Services for Older Adults has taught 48,000 people how to get started online since the pandemic began, he said, and operates a technical support hotline. When vaccine registrations started, the team on the phone answered thousands of questions about making appointments. Aging agencies in the area, part of a national aging network funded by the federal government and overseen by the Administration for Community Life, are also helping. Local divisions have been calling the elderly and helping them apply for vaccines over the phone or in person, said Sandy Markwood, chief executive of Area Agencies, which include more than 600 regional nonprofit centers run by state governments. In Akron, Ohio, 78-year-old Lee Freund said all the hospitals, pharmacies and supermarkets she called for a vaccine had directed her to a series of confusing pages. Freund accidentally managed to sign up for the delivery of groceries, but he was not lucky to fight for a chance. She ended up in tears. “When you are alone, it is frustrating, overwhelming and very emotional,” said Freund, whose husband died last year. She said she didn’t call her children for help because she didn’t want to be a burden. “It almost made me think, ‘I don’t think it’s worth it.’” Freund finally found help at the area’s Aging Agency, where a woman got an appointment for her. On Thursday, about 24 million Americans aged 65 and over, or about 41%, received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to data from the population and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention compiled. by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Senator Tina Smith, D-Minn., Who reintroduced a bill last year that would allocate money to help make older Americans online, said the government failed to anticipate an avoidable crisis by failing to fund senior agencies before . Aging network organizations “have been overwhelmed by the needs and demands they have and are struggling to overcome the pandemic,” said Smith in an interview. “We have insufficient resources and we are seeing the effects of that.” The House-approved coronavirus relief bill includes $ 470 million for support services for older Americans, including vaccine outreach. The Administration for Living in the Community is working with the CDC on a public awareness campaign for the elderly, said Edwin Walker, assistant deputy secretary for the aging of the group. But this initiative is still in the planning stage. In the meantime, groups of volunteers have emerged to help. In Miami, Katherine Quirk and her fiance, Russ Schwartz, started a Facebook group in January to disseminate information about the availability of vaccines in their area. The group grew to 27,000 members looking for help and offering tips, and the effort helped thousands get vaccinated. “It’s incredible, overwhelming,” said Quirk, 44, a nurse. “We were called vaccine angels”. For those who are still waiting for the chance, the hope seems distant. In Novato, Carlin spends his time watching the news on television, if there is a mention of where to take a photo. A granddaughter is trying to find one for her, but to no avail. “I’m used to going out and going and doing everything,” she said. If she was vaccinated, “I could go on with my life, but now I feel like I’m waiting.” This article was originally published in The New York Times. © 2021 The New York Times Company