By Ashley Benkarski
NASHVILLE, TN — One of the newest concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic is that America, despite mass vaccination efforts, may not reach the percentage of the population necessary for herd immunity.
Skepticism and real concerns about the vaccine have blended with rapidly-spreading disinformation which is at least partially responsible for less than half of adults in the nation being vaccinated.
Since COVID-19 vaccine distribution began in the United States on Dec. 14, more than 270 million doses have been administered, fully vaccinating over 121 million people or 36.7% of the total U.S. population, NPR reported.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, just over 29 percent of Tennesseans have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine while 36.8 percent have received at least one dose.
The overhanging question is whether the mass vaccination drives at clinics and vaccination appointments will get the nation to that critical herd immunity threshold.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center and School of Nursing may have found an answer– meeting people where they are to distribute the vaccine.
Dr. April Kapu, president-elect of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and professor at Vanderbilt’s School of Nursing is overseeing a new initiative to do just that by working with affordable housing organization Urban Housing Solutions to identify vulnerable and underserved communities in the Metro area, including large populations of Kurdish and Hispanic residents and essential workers.
Some people don’t have transportation to vaccination sites or appointments or may have disabilities that prevent them from leaving their home. Others have work hours that conflict with vaccination drives or can’t afford to take time off.
“If you don’t have housing you’re not going to have good health, and without good health you’re unlikely to save your housing,” said Vanderbilt Nursing Professor Christian Ketel.
The relations between the two institutions contributed to a great collaboration during the pandemic, being the first to test the community and piloting a door-to-door community vaccine program that’s seen 95 percent vaccination rates.
Dr. Kapu and Ketel recently went door to door at Mercury Courts, a 200-resident community including those previously homeless nested in one of the most medically underserved areas in Middle Tennessee.
“Many won’t get vaccines period, but it’s an individual decision,” Dr. Kapu said, noting concerns run the gamut from fear of needles to misinformation. “People aren’t trusting the science. The fact that we can look back and see the flu season was nearly nonexistent is evidence masks work.”
The coronavirus isn’t like the flu or pneumonia, both of which have had treatments available for years while treatments for COVID-19 are still being researched and long-lasting symptoms have been causing serious problems for some, dubbed “long-haulers.”
“Young people don’t seem to want to get the vaccine until they think they need it,” she continued, pointing out those are the very people that
Harold Cowan on Tuesday, May 4.
are getting the virus and being hospitalized now. “People coming in [to ICUs] now are younger and they are really sick. Some may not make it out. It’s hard because you know that, in a way, it’s preventable.”
Some people won’t get the second shot due to convenience, but Dr. Kapu cautioned that there’s only a certain amount of immunity after the first dose for COVID-19 variants and the second dose is needed to reach the highest percentages.
Vaccines have shown efficacy against the current variants, Ketel said, and for those who question the timeliness of COVID-19 vaccine development he pointed to technological advances and the concerted global effort to produce it, which included research already cultivated through Canada’s recent SARS outbreak. The genome sequence of the SARS (Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS-CoV-2) virus is similar to the coronavirus.
Vaccine hesitancy takes many forms and it’s no surprise that the vaccine can produce negative symptoms and rare consequences. However, the fact remains that the vaccine is keeping most people out of the ICU, said Ketel, noting rates of hospitalization for vaccine reactions are extremely low compared to COVID-19 hospitalization rates.
Testimony from fellow residents helped with overcoming vaccine hesitancy by creating a snowball effect, with neighbors going with Dr. Kapu and Ketel to make sure people got vaccines.
“When we went to Greentree for the first dose, we actually first went to an apartment of someone [Ketel] knew and led them around door to door,” Kapu said. “For the second dose the word had gotten around and some were asking about getting a first dose.”
Ketel noted the reduction in hesitancy also had a lot to do with the trust Vanderbilt has forged in the communities they visit, and word of mouth turned those properties into avenues to get people vaccinated where they’re most comfortable– at home.
The goal now is to achieve what he calls “micro herd immunity” in local communities and protecting not just the larger community but those in health care and social services that have been risking their own health and working tirelessly in excruciating conditions for the last year.
“We’re ready to meet the challenge,” he said.
Visit urbanhousingsolutions.org or call Vanderbilt at 888-312-0847 for more information.
