Texas people don’t have to prove they qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine, and some are across the line.

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“I sent them mainly to protect me and to vaccinate newborn babies. [my husband] A 37-year-old woman who demanded anonymity for fear of public retaliation said.

Tensions are rising for so-called “line jumpers” as Texas immunizes the majority of its 29 million inhabitants, reduces deaths and hospitalizations, and stops the spread of the virus to highly vulnerable color communities. ..

Current state guidelines require recipients to be 65 years of age or older, employed as front-line healthcare professionals, teachers or childcare workers, or medically vulnerable and 15 years of age or older. About 4.3 million people in Texas — Or about 14% of the state’s population — Take at least once.. Lara Anton, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Health, said 10 to 13 million people would be vaccinated under Texas guidelines.

According to Anton, if a healthcare provider has access to the recipient’s healthcare records (for example, if the person is an existing patient), they can be used to verify an individual’s healthcare eligibility, but in the state. Health guidelines do not allow healthcare providers to require recipients to: Prove your medical condition.

She added that the state does not want people to be more difficult to be shot by requiring them to bring medical records.

“We don’t want to create barriers that prevent people from getting vaccinated. Everyone who gets vaccinated slows the spread of the disease and relieves pressure on the hospital system,” Anton said. Told.

Many healthcare providers say they believe that most vaccinated people are eligible, based on anecdotal evidence and state data, but if there is no medical record to check, they will be eligible. We have confirmed and acknowledged that it is difficult to enforce the requirements beyond age. Many eligible conditions, such as diabetes and sickle cell disease, cannot be easily identified without them.

As a result, providers operate primarily on the honor system.And then Opposition to Old Texas Senator Anecdotal evidence that his age group got his vaccine before being reported by a seemingly healthy young college student lined up to take shots on campus with student IDs alone follows. It shows that it is not.

Allison Winnike, president and CEO of The Immunization Partnership, a state-wide nonprofit focused on eradicating preventable vaccines, said: sick.

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It is impossible to quantify the line jumper incident and impact, officials say. The state has the number of people on the vaccine waiting list, as there are more than 1,500 vaccine providers in Texas, each with a different system, and several people on multiple waiting lists at the same time. Not also tracking.

According to Anton, the provider does not report that ineligible people have the problem of overtaking priority groups, but has shown that the provider plans to do so as a matter of practice. If, “We will contact them immediately and explain that people should not be vaccinated outside those groups.”

As Texas expands its eligibility requirements to include more people and perhaps essential workers, a move scheduled for later this month says the issue of giving shots to unqualified people will have less impact. Winnique said.

“As you keep opening it, you have more opportunities for line jumps, but less reason to do so,” Winike said. “At some point it will be almost irrelevant.”

“Ethical gray area”

A story that grabs a headline He talks about the battle between qualified and unqualified people in Texas and across the country.

While states like New York struggle to vaccinate people of color, white populations are lined up in vaccination hubs for colored communities.Reports of people crossing state-county boundaries to get vaccinated Clampdown in Florida. Social media is the personal story of people who are angry and out of order about people who appear to be unqualified for vaccination while high-priority people are on the waiting list. It is full of.

According to DSHS figures, half of all Texas people over the age of 65 receive at least one dose, which accounts for nearly 2 million people, accounting for almost half of the total dose given in Texas. I will. Elderly people, who make up about 13% of Texas’ population, are most likely to be hospitalized and die of the virus.

In Austin, more than 500,000 people meet eligibility requirements, about 200,000 are pre-registered through the Austin Public Health System and are still waiting, an APH spokeswoman said in an email. Approximately 167,000 people take at least one dose at Travis County, according to state health officials.

Line jumps are “an unfortunate reality for many providers,” but “overall, we’re trying to achieve herd immunity, and crossing arms is good for the entire community,” said a spokesman. It was.

“We want to prioritize the most vulnerable people who are most likely to suffer from the virus,” a spokeswoman added. “Help older people sign up for the vaccine instead of crossing the line.”

Registration bug It has happened in several states, including Texas, allowing thousands of ineligible people to bypass priority guidelines and sign up for appointments or attend large-scale vaccination events. It was. Walk-in base Reportedly to get shots they weren’t yet qualified.

According to officials, in late February at the University of Texas at Austin, an online registration link for bookings via UT Health Austin was “improperly shared” and falsely believed to be eligible and signed up for the shot. Authorities later canceled most of those appointments.

“Everyone is fighting through the same bug in the system,” said Jenstratton, Communications Director of the Family Hospital System in Williamson County, which is affiliated with the county to operate the vaccination hub. I will. “There is no hub in this country that has had no problems with people getting links that shouldn’t be.

“There is no good answer,” Stratton added. “We are working hard to ensure that the right people are available. [the vaccine] At the right time. And we understand frustration and we understand perception. And we just seek patience. “

Use all shots

Faced with trying to vaccinate against the virus Nearly 45,000 people died in Texas Last year, providers adjusted the cost of vaccination to unqualified people against the benefits of vaccination of as many Texas people as possible.

Qualified, in some cases, because the provider does not want to waste the vaccine dose when a qualified person cancels or is absent from the appointment, or because a fully qualified person does not appear during the vaccination drive. Shots are given to those who do not. Both the Pfizer vaccine and the modelna vaccine must be used within a certain period of time after the seal is released.

In that case, the healthcare provider should choose to vaccinate those who are not in the priority group or to dispose of the valuable amount of COVID-19 vaccine that is already in short supply.Most seem to follow Recommendations State and national health authorities to manage shots on them Out of scope of eligibility guidelines Even if healthcare providers face criticism of immunizing people outside the scope of eligibility guidelines, if it prevents wasted doses.

“It’s the ultimate catch 22,” said Stratton.

A 37-year-old Austin mother, afraid of a newborn if she or her baby is infected with COVID-19, the family’s decision to vaccinate a healthy young husband could lead to family backlash Admitted that it is an “ethically gray area”. The general public if they share it on social media.

“But this is what I know now,” she said. “He knows if I get sick [my husband] Or my mother can take care of my baby in the same home. … I wasn’t feeling good about that decision. But I was going to make it anyway because your mother’s instinct started to work and you seemed like “No, I’ll do anything to protect my baby”.

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This article was originally Texas Tribune so https://www.texastribune.org/2021/03/09/texas-coronavirus-vaccine/..

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