Recently, the epidemic situation in Beijing has suddenly become tense, and it is reported that at 16:00 on April 22 and 25, there were 70 new cases of new coronavirus infection in Beijing, many of which were elderly people who had not been vaccinated against the new crown.
According to the latest information from the Shanghai Health Commission, from 0 to 24:00 on April 24, there were 51 new local deaths in Shanghai, and the cumulative number of deaths in this round of the epidemic has exceeded 100. The average age of these cases is over 80 years old, and most of them have underlying medical conditions and have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The situation abroad is even more severe, with the cumulative number of deaths from the new crown in Italy exceeding 161,000, most of which are unvaccinated elderly;
Greece died of the new crown, nine became the elderly, seven of the severely ill became the unvaccinated elderly;
In Bulgaria, nearly 9,000 unvaccinated elderly people died of COVID-19 in the first half of 2021 due to early promotion of vaccination for the elderly population.
Wang Huaqing, chief expert of the immunization program of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, once said: "The two risk factors that led to severe illness and death of infected people before, one is advanced age, one is underlying disease, and now another factor has been added, that is, not vaccinated." "The elderly are the most in need of protection in the epidemic, and it is urgent to increase vaccination rates in the absence of age and underlying diseases.
"Life Times" (search for "LT0385" in WeChat can be followed) interviews authoritative experts to explain the current situation and vaccination points of the elderly for you.
Experts interviewed
Li Tongzeng, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Infectious Diseases of Beijing You'an Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University
Hu Zhonghua, Institute of Precision Molecular Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University
The author of this article 丨 Life Times reporter Li Zhenyu This newspaper's special correspondent in Denmark, He Peng
This article was edited by Ren Linxian
Vaccination rates for the elderly are advancing in difficult times
At the end of November last year, the National Health Commission released data saying that there were still about 50 million people over the age of 60 across the country who had not completed the full vaccination of the new crown vaccine, and about half of them had not been vaccinated with reinforcing needles, calling on the elderly to speed up vaccination.
However, the reporter recently learned from two large communities and three nursing homes that many elderly, frail, chronically ill, bedridden elderly people have not been vaccinated against the new crown. The staff must not only mobilize the elderly, but also persuade the children, which can be described as "difficult to advance".
There are 23,000 people over the age of 60 in the Apple Garden community in Beijing's Shijingshan District, about 78% of whom have been vaccinated against COVID-19, and nearly 5,000 people have not been vaccinated.
Mu Lin, director of the Apple Garden Community Health Service Center, said that considering the inconvenience of the elderly, they took turns to set up points in various communities and sent vaccine mobile vehicles to try to let residents get vaccinated in the community, which promoted the vaccination of many elderly people to a certain extent. Recently, they have also introduced household vaccinations for the elderly with limited mobility. At present, although the vaccination rate is slowly increasing, it has to be admitted that the community medical staff is overloaded, because of insufficient manpower or emergency support, and the need for support from secondary and tertiary hospitals.
"Many times of mobilization, some elderly people are still reluctant to get vaccinated." Pi Beibei, secretary of the Party Committee of The Fresh Community in Chaoyang Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, said that the number of people aged 60 and above in the community has reached 60% or 70%, but less than 30% of the elderly over 80 years old have been vaccinated against the new crown.
Because some elderly people think that they do not go out much, they do not need to be vaccinated; some elderly people are weak, have underlying diseases, and are worried that vaccination has adverse reactions or aggravate existing diseases; and some elderly people believe that the vaccine development time is not long, the protective effect is not yet known, and there will be a more perfect vaccine in the future, and there is no hurry to fight.
The Sun Palace Community Health Service Center vaccinated the elderly at the Beijing Longzhen Nursing Home, the oldest of whom was 107 years old.
Among the several pension institutions investigated by the reporter, most of the elderly over the age of 80 are admitted, and about 90% of the elderly with underlying diseases and bedridden are occupied, and the vaccination rate is 60% to 90%.
Several people in charge unanimously said: "It takes a lot of effort to promote vaccination. Zhang Yu, chairman of the Beijing Longzhen Pension Service Center, introduced that at the beginning there were only three or five people to fight, and after everyone waited and saw that the elderly who had been beaten were not uncomfortable, they gradually began to accept, but the elderly with serious diseases, the family members still hesitated.
The family believes that the elderly are old, bedridden for many years, there are many underlying diseases, the risk of vaccination is large, and the nursing home is fully closed management, as long as it does not go out, there is no need to fight.
"In fact, for the safety of the elderly, the caregivers have been closed in the nursing home, and everyone hopes to unseal it as soon as possible and go home to see." Xie Ying, director of Fushouyuan Pension Station, said.
The reporter learned that the Beijing pension institutions are closed management, and the work of vaccination against the new crown relies on the staff of civil affairs departments, communities and streets, and grass-roots hospitals to help dispatch. Different from the vaccination process of the general population, the elderly in the nursing home need to be evaluated by the doctor first, if there is no contraindication, the nursing home staff will communicate with the family, and the family can sign and agree before the medical staff can vaccinate the elderly.
After completing two doses of vaccination, medical staff must run to the nursing home at least three times, and sometimes the "battle line" is longer, such as the elderly suddenly have high blood pressure or diarrhea and other discomforts on the same day, and they can only change the time to re-vaccinate. "There are not too many elderly people who are vaccinated every time, and at present, the staff of grass-roots hospitals and communities have come to our nursing homes dozens of times." A staff member at the Xijing Nursing Home said.
In order to encourage the elderly to be vaccinated against COVID-19, some communities have issued rewards, such as rice, eggs, shopping vouchers, etc., and more people can indeed be vaccinated. However, several community workers said that this was a helpless move because there were still elderly people waiting.
Countries rack their brains to do the work of the elderly
After the advent of the new crown vaccine, the phenomenon of "vaccine hesitation" is widespread worldwide, especially in the elderly group, and governments have to take various measures to increase the vaccination rate of the elderly.
The Prime Minister of Denmark is vaccinated against COVID-19.
France, Greece, Italy: Enforcement measures
At the end of 2020, after the launch of the French COVID-19 vaccination program, more than half of the French residents hesitated to wait and see, and about 30% resolutely refused to vaccinate.
In July 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron issued a televised statement to the whole country announcing the mandatory "COVID-19 Pass" measure, requiring French citizens over the age of 16 to enter public places such as restaurants and movie theaters, as well as to show a "COVID-19 Pass" when taking all domestic flights and trains; those who hold false passes will be fined.
The elderly in France are being vaccinated against COVID-19 in hospitals.
At the end of November last year, the Greek government imposed a "COVID-19 vaccine injunction" on citizens over the age of 60. It is reported that about 17% of Greek citizens over the age of 60 have not yet been vaccinated, and if the first dose of vaccination is not completed by January 16, 2022, a fine of 50 euros (about 352 yuan) will be paid in January, and the fine will increase to 100 euros (about 705 yuan) the following month. Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis said he had no choice but to enact the decree because 90 percent of people who die of COVID-19 in Greece are over 60 years old; 70 percent of severely ill patients are elderly and unvaccinated.
As of April 24, the cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths in Italy exceeded 161,000, but more than 7.1 million people across the country are still unvaccinated, most of them citizens over the age of 50. Roberto Cauda, director of the Infectious Diseases Department at Rome's Gemelli General Hospital, said most of the COVID-19 deaths in Italy were elderly people who had not been vaccinated.
Previously, Italy issued new regulations requiring that only "vaccination certificates" be shown to enter public places such as shops, banks, barbershops, etc., and the number of infections and deaths dropped significantly.
As of March 2022, the vaccination rate in Italy over the age of 12 has reached 90%, and 83% have received a third booster dose. In addition, Austria has also introduced mandatory vaccination measures, and those who refuse to accept them will be fined; Denmark and other countries are actively promoting the fourth dose of covid-19 vaccine for the elderly.
As of March 2022, the vaccination rate in Italy over the age of 12 has reached 90%, and 83% have received a third booster dose. In addition, Austria has also introduced mandatory vaccination measures, and those who refuse to accept them will be fined; Denmark and other countries are actively promoting the fourth dose of covid-19 vaccine for the elderly.
Bulgaria: Promotion of cash prizes
In the first half of 2021, 8,813 unvaccinated people over the age of 60 died of COVID-19 in Bulgaria. By the end of 2021, Bulgaria will have a cumulative COVID-19 death toll of nearly 310,000, making it the country with the lowest vaccination rate and the highest number of deaths in the EU member states.
Many EU countries must hold an electronic "COVID-19 vaccine passport" to enter public places.
Overwhelmed, on December 23, 2021, Bulgaria's new Prime Minister Petkov announced that each elderly person who is vaccinated will receive a one-time cash reward of 75 levs (about 265 yuan), and the elderly who receive 3 doses of vaccination will also receive a bonus. The move was immediate, with more than 30% of the elderly in Bulgaria completing two doses of vaccination after only one month.
United Kingdom, Singapore: Taking advantage of the celebrity effect
The data shows that the vaccination rate of the population over 60 years old in the UK is more than 80%, and the reasons for the high vaccination rate are:
Epidemics are often raging, and people are alert and urgent to vaccinate;
A large number of studies have confirmed the harm of the new crown to the elderly;
Politicians and celebrities lead by example in vaccinate, such as Queen Elizabeth II;
A large number of credible doctors and scientists participate in the campaign;
Elderly people are given priority when vaccinating.
Singapore has the highest vaccination rate in the world, with a 92% rate for the second dose and 73% for the third dose.
In fact, the elderly in Singapore also initially had vaccine hesitation, for reasons such as: incorrect vaccine information caused by the elderly misunderstanding; worry about vaccine side effects; some medical personnel and family members affect the enthusiasm of the elderly to vaccinate.
To this end, Singapore has taken many measures, on the one hand, to provide living allowances and ride discounts for the elderly who have been vaccinated. Some banks provide free short-term vaccine insurance for savers, including the elderly, and can be compensated if they are hospitalized within 14 days of side effects; on the other hand, the government and medical personnel work together to popularize science, such as 68-year-old Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong when he was vaccinated nationwide.
USA: Clever use of tricks and counterexamples
In a liberal America, there are many dramatic stories about vaccination. Phil Valentine, a 61-year-old radio host in Tennessee, was adamant about not getting vaccinated and advised people not to get vaccinated on the show, only to die of COVID-19.
His family said Phil regretted it before his death, and the news of his death reminded americans of the elderly. In order to encourage the elderly to get vaccinated, Ohio, New York, Maryland, West Virginia and other countries have launched "lottery vaccines", and the winners can receive a reward of $20 to $5 million.
With the lessons of incentives, transparency, and facts, more and more elderly Americans are willing to get vaccinated. But it is undeniable that the elderly in the United States have long been deeply affected by the "lying flat epidemic prevention", 75% of the deaths are the elderly over 65 years old, and 1 in every 100 American elderly people die of the new crown.
Eliminate misconceptions, concerns and obstacles
Recently, the Chinese Society of Cell Biology issued the "Proposal on Increasing the Proportion of COVID-19 Vaccination and Strengthening the Injection Ratio of the Elderly", and more than 600 scholars and experts called on all sectors of society in their personal names to jointly promote the vaccination of the elderly with COVID-19.
Hu Zhonghua, one of the experts on the signature initiative and a researcher at the Institute of Precision Molecular Medicine at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, said that the entire scientific community recognizes that vaccines are the healthiest and most effective protective weapons. COVID-19 has lasted for more than two years and will remain a threat for some time to come, and vaccines must be fought.
"About 1/5 of the elderly in the mainland have not completed the full vaccination of the new crown vaccine, the proportion is quite large, they are completely exposed in an unprotected state, once they encounter the virus invasion, the consequences are very serious."
Li Tong, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Infectious Diseases of Beijing You'an Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, once said that throughout the world, the vast majority of severe cases and deaths of new crown are elderly people who are unvaccinated and have underlying diseases.
Although the emergence of the Omiljung strain has reduced the infection rate of the new crown vaccine, the effect of preventing severe illness and death is still very obvious.
Therefore, it is recommended that the elderly without absolute contraindications "should be fully received", and the elderly who have completed the full vaccination should receive the third dose of the booster injection as soon as possible after 6 months.
Experts say that efforts are being made to help the elderly get vaccinated everywhere, but there are still some work that needs attention.
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Dispel misconceptions
One of the main reasons for the low COVID-19 vaccination rate of the elderly in Hong Kong is that they listen to gossip and exaggerate the side effects. At present, some elderly people with chronic diseases still have misunderstandings about the side effects of vaccines.
In fact, after vaccination, some ordinary reactions are normal, and some reactions may be just because of mental stress. Judging from the mainland data, the reported incidence of serious adverse reactions of domestic new crown vaccines is only 7 in 10 million, and the safety has been fully verified.
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Eliminate doubts
Since April 16, the Tongzhou District Government of Beijing has funded the purchase of COVID-19 vaccine insurance for the elderly over the age of 60 who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, so as to relieve the worries of vaccination. Many places also carry out vaccine science popularization specifically for the elderly, and dispel vaccination concerns by telling examples.
Experts suggest that in addition to community workers, the media should also strengthen scientific advocacy. Medical workers should do a good job in the safety assessment of vaccination for the elderly, and when encountering the elderly with complex conditions, grass-roots doctors can work with doctors in higher-level hospitals to evaluate and ensure safe vaccination; they can also try to open special vaccination sites, such as cardiovascular disease new crown vaccination sessions, and invite relevant specialist doctors to assist in vaccine consultation and vaccination on the spot.
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Remove barriers
For the elderly with difficulties, the community can take door-to-door publicity, special car transportation, full escort and other methods to eliminate objective obstacles such as inconvenience in vaccination. In particular, it is necessary to do a good job in mobilizing the elderly and their families for the elderly, and then coordinate collective vaccination to improve work efficiency in an orderly manner. ▲
Editor of this issue: Zheng Ronghua