Doctors alert: seniors excluded from the vaccination system

In Poland, public vaccination against COVID-19 is underway. From Wednesday, people born no later than 1970 can register. Still, not all willing seniors received the preparation. The problem is the system that is not friendly to every old person. Doctors from the Zielona Góra Agreement point out to the existence of groups excluded from the system.

1. From April 26, every day, two new age groups will be able to register for the COVID-19 vaccination. By May 9, all interested adults are to have an e-referral issued
2. Registration for vaccination against COVID-19 takes place through four channels: through the patient portal, hotline, SMS or at the vaccination point
3. For some seniors, these channels are not sufficient and therefore cannot register for vaccination. And they belong to the high-risk group
4. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

The National Immunization Program is accelerating. But not for everyone

The National Immunization Program in Poland is accelerating. From April 26, the registration of not one, but two new years will start every day. In turn, by May 9, every Polish citizen who has reached the age of majority and wants to take the preparation will receive an e-referral for vaccination against COVID-19.

Minister Michał Dworczyk informed on Tuesday that if there is a risk of not using the vaccine, it will be possible to give it to someone outside the currently vaccinated years. There is one condition – this person must be at least 18 years old.

– A regulation will be published that will introduce a change: in the event of a risk of not using the vaccine, it is allowed to use the vaccine in a person over 18 years of age – announced the minister.

1. Check also: How to sign up for the COVID-19 vaccination? [WE EXPLAIN]

The acceleration of the National Immunization Program should clearly be good news. In the opinion of doctors from the Zielona Góra Agreement, however, the problem is “exclusion by the system”. It is about seniors who are not able to register for the COVID-19 vaccination due to the technological barrier.

Not all seniors read SMS. Internet registration is also a problem

Currently, registration for vaccination against COVID-19 is carried out through four channels. It is the patient’s internet portal (patient.gov.pl), a hotline telephone number (989 – the telephone is available 48 hours a day and is free of charge), SMS (with the text SzczepimySie to the number +664 908 556 XNUMX) or by contacting a selected vaccination point. As noted by the doctors from the Zielona Góra Agreement, such solutions are not always sufficient when an elderly person is concerned.

– Although it may seem improbable from the perspective of big cities, there are people in Poland who only use landline phones, and even if they have a “mobile”, they are unable to receive an SMS. Also this with the notification of the vaccination date. The system has excluded these people from the COVID-19 vaccination program and they can take advantage of this benefit only thanks to their family doctors who know their situation – we read on the PZ website.

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Małgorzata Stokowska-Wojda is one of the family doctors belonging to the Zielona Góra Agreement. He works in a small town in the Lublin region. Among her patients, the problem of exclusion from vaccination was clearly visible.

“It’s usually the elderly who don’t use cell phones at all,” he says. – There are families where one phone is used by more than one household. There are also those who can only handle the telephone for seniors, where they have dialed numbers to their loved ones or to the emergency room, but will no longer receive an SMS. The vaccination notification system, based on SMS notifications, does not work for such patients. Registration via the hotline is not an option. However, we do not want to ignore them and we do our best to save as many of our patients as possible from severe disease, even at the expense of additional work. Therefore, in my clinic, nurses themselves call patients, encouraging them to vaccinate, register for a specific date, and additionally remind them to vaccinate the day before – adds Stokowska-Wojda.

Such actions require increased effort from medical personnel, but they are very important. Especially since seniors belong to the group most at risk of severe disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, it is crucial that they can get vaccinated as soon as possible. Małgorzata Stokowska-Wojda admits that several of her patients died after being infected with COVID-19.

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Some of the patients who would like to be vaccinated against COVID-19 are people with movement disorders. They live in small towns and are unable to reach a hospital far away from their place of residence on their own. When vaccination takes place, for example, in a local clinic, there is a much greater chance that someone from the family or neighbors will help the patient to get there.

– We hear many times from our patients words of gratitude for the fact that we are, that we vaccinate on the spot – adds Małgorzata Stokowska-Wojda. – This simple ‘thank you’ is even more important today than ever before.

Also read:

1. Registration for vaccinations for people born in 1970 has started
2. EMA on Johnson & Johnson vaccine: possible link with rare cases of unusual blood clots
3. Which countries are winning the fight against COVID-19? Where is Poland located? Latest ranking
4. Sweden’s chief epidemiologist vaccinated with AstraZeneka. Has it had side effects?
5. Norway: ‘leading coronasceptic’ died. He banned himself at a party

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