海角换妻 parents and their children began lining up for COVID-19 vaccines last week after the federal government authorized a two-dose vaccine for kids 5 to 11 years old.
Now with expanded vaccine eligibility to all but infants and toddlers, health experts and state leaders hope that most of 海角换妻鈥檚 population will soon be immunized against the virus 鈥� but there are still challenges.
鈥淚n this pandemic, we have seen many disparities laid bare, and there is still a large gap in vaccination rates between communities,鈥� said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin at the Hispanic Health Council last week. 鈥淎nd here in Hartford, we still have a long way to go.鈥�
海角换妻 has some of the highest overall COVID-19 vaccination rates in the country, but when broken down by race and ethnicity, children of color and those in lower-income families have a higher risk of becoming ill from the virus due to lagging immunizations.
Community leaders say that can be the result of a combination of factors: the spread of vaccine misinformation online, barriers to accessing the shot, and existing inequities among different groups of people.
鈥淎 lot of the folks that we work with, vaccinations may be one of the last things that they鈥檙e concerned about,鈥� said Ken Barela, CEO of the Hispanic Health Council. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e just trying to figure out how to eat, how to live, how to get shelter over their heads. So, we have to address these issues on a very holistic level.鈥�
Data on vaccine uptake in the youngest age group is limited with just a week of eligibility. But the state has collected information on vaccinations among 12- to 15-year-olds, who were cleared to get Pfizer鈥檚 COVID-19 vaccine back in May.
That data shows that nearly 3 out of every 4 young teenagers in 海角换妻 have gotten at least one shot, but coverage rates vary by race and ethnicity.
Just about half or less of Black and Native American children in this age group are vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the latest state data. About 65% of Hispanic kids have gotten their first dose compared with 70% of white kids and 84% of Asian children.
While kids overall have fared better with COVID-19 illness than adults, any infection could still lead to quarantine and isolation as well as disruption to education, extracurricular activities, sports and other social interaction with friends and family.
鈥淓quity, access and opportunity as it relates to the vaccine and keeping our kids, our staff and our families safe has been at the center of how we鈥檝e approached managing COVID-19,鈥� Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, superintendent of Hartford Public Schools, said last week at Dunkin鈥� Donuts Park.
But only about one-third of the district鈥檚 students 12 years and older are vaccinated against the virus, she said, and 1,500 students have been placed in quarantine so far this year.
鈥淓very minute that is lost in instruction matters,鈥� Torres-Rodriguez said.
The school system has partnered with the city, health providers and community organizations to improve vaccination rates by increasing local access to the vaccines 鈥� the baseball stadium will host two child vaccine clinics Nov. 14 and Dec. 5 鈥� and by helping families get correct information and address lingering concerns.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to continue doing outreaches, very personalized outreaches,鈥� Torres-Rodriguez said, 鈥渇rom not only calling our families, having our community conversations 鈥� and then what we do best, making sure we do home visits to understand exactly what the barriers are, what the misconceptions are that our families have.鈥�
Experts say misconceptions due to online misinformation and disinformation are a big part of the problem 鈥� especially when misleading content from on social media.
But even for families who do want their kids to get vaccinated, barriers remain.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to bring the vaccines to the families, remind them and provide a venue where they can actually come in and get vaccinated,鈥� said Dr. Juan Salazar, a pediatrician and physician-in-chief at 海角换妻 Children鈥檚.
鈥淏ut I do understand, it鈥檚 not always easy,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f the family is working, they don鈥檛 have transportation, how do they get to the right place?鈥�
In a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey, with taking time off to get their younger children vaccinated, traveling to a vaccine site and potential costs than parents with higher earnings.
More than half of respondents earning less than $50,000 a year said they were very or somewhat concerned that they might have to take time off work to bring their child to get vaccinated or care for them if they experienced side effects, compared with 23% of parents with higher earnings who said the same.
And 38% of low-income parents worried about difficulty traveling to a vaccination site, whereas only 3% of higher earners had that concern.
Barela said organizations, health providers and city and state leaders have the responsibility of narrowing the vaccination disparities by giving help and resources to those who need it most.
鈥淚t鈥檚 our job to reach out to the community where they live, as much as we can and in an effective way as we can,鈥� he said, 鈥渢o make sure they are receiving information in a culturally competent way, they鈥檙e being directed to the sources that are out there, and it is done in a way that is compassionate and is sensitive to the unique situation that they may be in.鈥�
For information on where to get a COVID-19 vaccine, visit or call 2-1-1. Para obtener informaci贸n sobre la vacuna COVID-19, visite o llame al 2-1-1.
