COVID-19 Vaccine Priority for Older Adults Comes to an End

People of all ages have reported challenges in signing up for vaccinations, especially in the early weeks and months of the rollout. But older Americans have been particularly challenged. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation COVID-19 vaccine monitoring project’s March survey, 63 percent of older adults (over age 65) who had not been vaccinated said they didn’t have enough information about when they could get vaccinated, and 45 percent said they didn’t have enough information about where they could go to get the vaccine. Sixteen percent of that population said they had tried but been unable to get an appointment for a shot.

AARP’s education campaign

Throughout the vaccine rollout, AARP has “been advocating to state, local and federal officials that they prioritize older residents,” says Khelan Bhatia, AARP’s senior adviser for voter education and coordinator of AARP’s vaccine education campaign. “Over the last few months what we’ve been trying to do is be a trusted source of relevant, reliable, valid and current information on COVID vaccines to our members and the general public so they can make the best personal decisions for themselves when it comes to receiving the vaccine.”

Hirsch says that while the number of older Americans who have been vaccinated is impressive, those who have not “is a more challenging population to reach because they are people who may be hesitant, who may be cautious, may be a group of people who may be disabled, have decreased mobility, the inability to go to a vaccine center or be unable to access [vaccine appointments] over the internet.”

Now that most of what Hirsch termed the “low-hanging fruit” of older Americans has been vaccinated, Bhatia says AARP will be focusing on people who haven’t gotten information about how they can access the vaccine in their community.

“We want to make sure people have the most factual information in their hands,” Bhatia says. “AARP has been partnering with organizations in multicultural communities that are seen as credible voices in those communities so we can reach those people who might be a little hesitant because they may have either gotten misinformation or may not have the full picture.” AARP has used a variety of techniques, including social media, direct mail, advertising and tele-town halls, to get the word out. In addition, AARP has created vaccination information guides for each state so people can get information tailored to their communities.