This commentary is by state Sen. Ruth Hardy, a Democrat from Addison County.
It’s time for Gov. Scott to change his vaccination schedule plan. What started out as a smart, compassionate plan to vaccinate Vermonters based on age-bands, focusing first on the oldest Vermonters who were most likely to die or be hospitalized with Covid, has turned into a protocol that pits Vermonters against each other.
Over the past few weeks, as vice chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, I have advocated to speed up vaccinations for incarcerated Vermonters, teachers and childcare providers, BIPOC Vermonters, parents and caregivers of medically vulnerable children, and now Vermont college students from out-of-state.
In most cases, the focus on age-bands has worked to prevent access to vaccinations for vulnerable or at-risk groups. In all cases, the effect was to divide Vermonters and create the perception that the loudest voices would get priority.
Vermonters are tired of waiting and anxious that their demographic group or community has been forgotten in this lockstep approach to prioritize age over all other factors. Now that more than 80% of Vermonters over age 65 have been vaccinated, it’s time to open up vaccination scheduling to everyone in Vermont and expand current efforts that prioritize equity and target access to vulnerable communities, while also promoting universal eligibility.
I offer this end-game vaccination plan to Gov, Scott and Health Commissioner Levine:
- Allow all people living in Vermont to schedule vaccination appointments as of Monday, April 5 (announce this at Friday’s press conference)
- Expand culturally- and/or linguistically-appropriate outreach and assistance, and extra vaccine clinics to BIPOC Vermonters in their communities
- Provide primary care practices with vaccine doses to administer to medically vulnerable patients and their parents or caregivers
- Continue vaccine clinics in schools to vaccinate teachers, staff, and students age-16+
- Start vaccine clinics on college campuses for all students, staff, and professors
- Vaccinate all incarcerated Vermonters and staff at all correctional facilities
- Expand mobile clinics and specialized outreach for very rural, remote Vermonters and hard-to-reach populations like farm workers
- Engage the business community and organizations in the restaurant, grocery, and hospitality industries to sponsor vaccine clinics
- Set up appointment scheduling through the next several months, adding appointments and clinics as doses and resources allow so more people can schedule appointments or reschedule them to earlier time slots
- Create more waiting lists to use extra doses and fill appointments on short notice.
Many other states have opened up eligibility to everyone. Targeted outreach to specific communities, combined with universal eligibility, will work to get everyone vaccinated effectively.
Vermonters know that full vaccination is still a few months away, and they can be trusted to be patient, knowing that they have an appointment on the books. Sticking to the age-bands, even for three more weeks, is no longer working. Let’s stop excluding and dividing Vermonters and allow everyone to sign up to be vaccinated.