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Seniors Seeking Vaccines Have a Problem: They Can’t Use the Internet - The New York Times

Seniors Seeking Vaccines Have a Problem: They Can’t Use the Internet - The New York Times

Seniors Seeking Vaccines Have a Problem: They Can’t Use the Internet - The New York Times
Feb 28, 2021 2 mins, 1 sec

Older adults living alone often lack access or an understanding of technology, and many are unsure how to sign up for an appointment.

Advocates for older Americans, 22 million of whom lack wired broadband access at home, say it is ridiculous that a program mostly aimed at vaccinating vulnerable seniors is so dependent on internet know-how, Twitter announcements and online event pages.

“We’re running into a crisis where connectivity is a life-or-death alternative for people,” said Tom Kamber, the executive director of Older Adults Technology Services, a nonprofit that trains seniors to use technology.

But when vaccines became available to a wider group of older adults in late December and early January, many who lived alone had to navigate the rollout by themselves.

Federal agencies like the Administration for Community Living, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as nonprofits, say they are doing what they can to guide older adults, but they are stretched thin.

(Seniors can call the Administration for Community Living’s Eldercare Locator number for assistance at 1-800-677-1116.).

Sims knows her way around Facebook and Instagram but still sometimes relies on her daughter for help online, and said older adults often felt “intimidated” by technology.

Older Adults Technology Services has taught 48,000 people how to get started online since the pandemic began, he said, and operates a tech support hotline.

Area Agencies on Aging, part of a national aging network funded by the federal government and overseen by the Administration for Community Living, are also helping out.

She said she did not call her children for help because she did not want to be a burden.

As of Thursday, about 24 million Americans ages 65 and older, or about 41 percent, had received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose, according to population and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Senator Tina Smith, Democrat of Minnesota, who has reintroduced a bill from last year that would allocate money to help get older Americans online, said the government had failed to get out ahead of a preventable crisis by not funding senior agencies sooner.

The coronavirus relief bill passed by the House includes $470 million for supportive services for older Americans, including vaccine outreach.

The Administration for Community Living is working with the C.D.C.

on a public awareness campaign for seniors, said Edwin Walker, the group’s deputy assistant secretary for aging.

Summarized by 365NEWSX ROBOTS

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