Indianz.Com > News > Kaiser Health News: COVID-19 booster rates lagging among Native people
‘The Danger Is Still There’ ― As Omicron Lurks, Native Americans Are Wary of Boosters
Friday, April 8, 2022
Kaiser Health News
When covid-19 vaccines first became available, Native Americans acted swiftly and with determination to get their shots — as though they had everything to lose. Covid hospitalization and death rates for American Indians and Alaska Natives had skyrocketed past those of non-Hispanic whites. Leveraging established systems like the Indian Health Service and tribal organizations, Native Americans urgently administered vaccines. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed they achieved the highest vaccination rates of any race or ethnicity.Yet, tribal health officials said, they eventually ran up against the challenges that broadly stalled the U.S. vaccination campaign, particularly in persuading people to get booster shots.Nationally, 72% of American Indians and Alaska Natives of all ages had received at least one dose of a covid vaccine as of March 28, and 59% were fully vaccinated — having received two doses of Moderna’s or Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine or one dose of Johnson & Johnson’s. A much smaller share had received booster shots — 44% of fully vaccinated Native Americans ages 12 and up, below the booster rates for whites, Asian Americans, and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
"I wish for all the parents to get their kids vaccinated." UNR Tiny Tot Princess RSIC Tribal Member Karianna John
Posted by Reno-Sparks Indian Colony on Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Native Americans get vaccinated in and outside of tribal health facilities, but access to IHS facilities can affect overall rates.IHS publishes the number of vaccine doses that have been delivered and administered in 11 IHS areas but not the number of people per area who have received those doses. The lone exception is Alaska, where tribes received vaccines from the state.“Something I’m very interested in is knowing how these rates may differ between tribal communities so that we can learn more about best practices,” O’Connell said.IHS received $9 billion to respond to the pandemic, the bulk of it from the American Rescue Plan. It did not respond to questions about efforts to increase booster rates among tribal populations and whether they differed from outreach done to encourage people to get the initial shots.When asked how often Native American vaccination data is checked for errors, CDC spokesperson Kate Grusich said the agency “regularly provides feedback on data quality” and works to remove duplicate or incorrect records. “This is an ongoing process and includes strategies to improve the accuracy of all COVID-19 vaccination related data, including race and ethnicity data,” she said in an email.Agnes Attakai, a member of the Navajo Nation who lost six relatives to covid, got her first two vaccine doses easily, through a university drive-thru clinic. But when it came to her booster shot, she said, she had two options — CVS and Walgreens pharmacies, which had “a month- to two-month-long waits,” or her local public health department about 10 miles away. A resident of rural Pima County, Arizona, she chose the latter and got her shot in November.Attakai, director of health disparities outreach and prevention education at the University of Arizona’s public health school, said she observed high uptake of booster shots. But there have been some clear differences compared with the early vaccine rollout.Shots were “more accessible at the very beginning where there was a mass effort, a communitywide effort,” Attakai said. “When the boosters rolled out … [folks had to] actually find out where to get their booster shots and which was the closest location, when they were open. And, of course, some of them were open only during the daytime.”The Navajo Nation Council recently honored Navajo Area IHS medical service providers, front line staff, essential workers, and other staff for their valor, commitment, and continued service to the Navajo Nation. Read more: https://t.co/iYeNDw2wAv #NativeHealth #IndianCountry pic.twitter.com/OY7H6bW2bV
— IndianHealthService (@IHSgov) April 5, 2022
ARPA HARDSHIP TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE – ALBUQUERQUE, NM 04.07.22
Posted by Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer on Thursday, April 7, 2022
KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.
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