(Newser)
– When Charlome Pierce looked for where her 96-year-old father could get the COVID vaccine in January, he found no option near his home in Virginia. The only medical clinic in Surry County had none and the last pharmacy in an area with about 6,500 residents closed years ago. To get their shots, some residents took a ferry along the James River to cities like Williamsburg. Others drove more than an hour to reach a medical center that offered the vaccine. At one point, Pierce overheard a state vaccination event within 45 minutes, but no more appointments were available, with a wait that lasted up to seven hours. As the national coronavirus campaign moves from mass inoculation sites to pharmacies and medical offices, vaccination remains a challenge for residents of “pharmacy deserts,” communities without well-equipped pharmacies or health clinics, leaving a “vacant void” for the AP.
To improve access, the federal government has partnered with 21 companies that run independent pharmacies or pharmacy services within grocery stores and other locations. More than 40,000 stores are expected to participate, and the Biden administration has said nearly 90 percent of Americans live within five miles of one. But there are gaps on the map: more than 400 rural counties with a combined population of about 2.5 million people do not have a retail pharmacy included in the association. Challenges to getting a vaccine close to home are also not limited to rural areas: there is a relative lack of medical facilities in some urban areas, especially for black Americans, according to a study. Pierce, who got a vaccine for his father at a February clinic at a Dendron institute, says where people live should not put them at a disadvantage. “You don’t have to be marginalized by your zip code,” he says. Much more here.
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