Left behind in vaccination drives
Some older adults often left to fend for themselves
PORTLAND, Ore. — Jean Andrade, an 88-year-old who lives alone, has been waiting for her COVID-19 vaccine since she became eligible under state guidelines nearly a month ago. She assumed her caseworker would contact her about getting one, especially after she spent nearly two days stuck in an electric recliner during a recent power outage.
It was only after she saw a TV news report about competition for the limited supply of shots in Portland, Oregon, that she realized no one was scheduling her dose. A grocery delivery service for homebound older people eventually provided a flyer with vaccine information, and Andrade asked a helper who comes by for four hours a week to try to snag her an appointment.
“I thought it would be a priority when you’re 88 years old and that someone would inform me,” said Andrade, who has lived in the same house for 40 years and has no family members able to assist her. “You ask anybody else who’s 88, 89, and don’t have anybody to help them, ask them what to do. Well, I’ve still got my brain, thank God. But I am very angry.”
Older adults have top priority in COVID-19 immunization drives the world over right now, and hundreds of thousands of them are spending hours online, enlisting their children’s help and traveling hours to far-flung pharmacies in a desperate bid to secure a vaccine. But an untold number like Andrade are getting left behind, unseen, because they are too overwhelmed, too frail or too poor to fend for themselves.
The urgency of reaching this vulnerable population before the nation’s focus turns elsewhere is growing as more Americans in other age and priority groups become eligible for vaccines. With the clock ticking and many states extending shots to people as young as 55, nonprofits, churches and advocacy groups are scrambling to find isolated elders and get them inoculated before they have to compete with an even bigger pool — and are potentially forgotten about as vaccination campaigns move on.
An extreme imbalance between vaccine supply and demand in almost every part of the United States makes securing a shot a gamble. In Oregon, Andrade is vying with as many as 750,000 residents age 65 and older, and demand is so high that appointments for the weekly allotment of doses in Portland are snapped up in less than an hour. On Monday, the city’s inundated vaccine information call line shut down by 9 a.m., and online booking sites have crashed.
Amid such frenzy, the vaccine rollout here and elsewhere has strongly favored healthier seniors with resources “who are able to jump in their car at a moment’s notice and drive two hours” while more vulnerable older adults are overlooked, said James Stowe, the director of aging and adult services for an association of city and county governments in the bistate Kansas City area.
“Why weren’t they the thrust of our efforts, the very core of what we wanted to do? Why didn’t it include this group from the very outset?” he said of the most vulnerable seniors.
Some of the older adults who have not received vaccines yet are so disconnected they don’t even know they are eligible. Others realize they qualify, but without internet service and often email accounts, they don’t know how to make an appointment and can’t get to one anyway — so they haven’t tried.
Still others have debilitating health issues that make leaving home an insurmountable task, or they are so terrified of exposure to COVID-19 that they’d rather go unvaccinated than risk venturing out in public to get a shot.
In Kansas City, Missouri, 75-year-old Pat Brown knows she needs the vaccine because her asthma and diabetes put her at higher risk of serious COVID-19 complications. But Brown hasn’t attempted to schedule an appointment and didn’t even know if they were being offered in her area yet; she says she is too overwhelmed.
“I don’t have no car, and it’s hard for me to get around places. I just don’t like to go to clinics and have to wait because you have to wait so long,” Brown said, adding that she is in constant pain because of spinal arthritis.
The pandemic has also closed senior centers, libraries and churches — all places where older Americans might remain visible in their communities and get information about the vaccine. And some public health departments at first relied on mass emails and text messages to alert residents they were eligible, thereby missing huge chunks of the senior population.
To counter access disparities, the Biden administration said Wednesday that it will partner with health insurance companies to help vulnerable older people get vaccinated for COVID-19. The goal is to get 2 million of the most at-risk seniors vaccinated soon, White House coronavirus special adviser Andy Slavitt said.
Slavitt says insurers will use their networks to contact Medicare recipients with information about COVID-19 vaccines, answer questions, find and schedule appointments for first and second doses and coordinate transportation. The focus will be on reaching people in medically underserved areas.
Coppin State pitcher Timmy Ruffino made his college debut against The Citadel early in the abbreviated 2020 season. Coming on in relief, the left-hander retired eight in a row before a Citadel batter pushed a bunt toward first base.
The 5-foot-10 pitcher sprinted off the mound, scooped the ball up and got the batter at first. It was a good defensive play, but even more impressive considering that Ruffino has an underdeveloped right hand and what he calls “nubs” for fingers.
But the play upset the pitcher a bit since he thought the batter was trying to take advantage of a perceived defensive limitation.
“[I thought] do I go push him down or talk to the ball and stay in the game?” Ruffino said. “I took the second option. They were just trying to break [my] groove. They didn’t try it again.”
Ruffino was born with amniotic band syndrome, which causes congenital deformities in limbs.
Ruffino, a sports management major, began playing baseball about the age of 4, and he credits his parents with not telling him he couldn’t do things and encouraging him to try. He wasn’t able to tie his shoes until about the age of 12, but that didn’t stop him.
In addition to pitching, he also hit in high school but hasn’t come to bat yet for Coppin State.
“When I look back on it, I won’t even realize that I have one hand sometimes,” Ruffino said. “When I sit back and realize where I am, I realize I did everything right. When they say hard work pays off, it does.”
Basically, he does what former major league pitcher Jim Abbott, an idol of Ruffino’s, did during his pitching career. Abbott quickly switched the glove back to his dominant hand so he could play defense. That’s just what Ruffino does.
Ruffino, who would like to get into coaching or construction once his baseball career ends, is no stranger to making do off the field either.
The Louisiana native’s family lost just about everything when about seven feet of water engulfed their home during Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. They evacuated to Tupelo during the storm and eventually settled in Bogalusa, right near the Mississippi line.
“He’s an incredible human being but he’s a great kid,” said Matt Greely, Coppin State’s associate head coach and pitching coach. “Timmy is the most unique pitcher I’ve ever worked with. He’s a left-handed pitcher, and he’s got a glove that he puts back on his left hand. The things that Timmy works on [are great].”
Greely and Ruffino’s club coach in high school had connected, and the Eagles wanted a good pitcher who could give them some innings. Ruffino already committed to a junior college near his home but thought Coppin State would give him more of a chance to pitch.
But Ruffino, who is now in Coppin’s starting rotation, didn’t agree to become an Eagle
until two weeks before school began in the fall of 2019. Because of the pandemic, he’s still a redshirt freshman and retains four years of eligibility.
During last year’s short season, Ruffino started twice and came on in relief three times. He finished with a 2-2 record and a 4.15 ERA and struck out 15 batters in 17 innings. He was twice named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week. This year, Ruffino received a no-decision in his first appearance against Navy and suffered a loss on Friday against Mount St. Mary’s in his second outing.
Coppin State (0-5) coach Sherman Reed said that Ruffino’s family wanted to assure them that he’d be accepted by the team.
“They’re a welcoming group,” Reed said. “I think the parents trusted that was going to be the case. Timmy felt he was truly welcome during the visit. Timmy’s just so much mature beyond his age.”
The team showed how much they were behind him during The Citadel bunt play in his first game.
“Timmy just executed it in such a way that his popularity went through the ceiling,” Reed said. “It kind of got the entire team psyched. He put a stop to that.”
1 5
8 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 22 23
24 25
29 33 34 35 39 40 41
42 44
46
ACROSS
Entry in a doctor’s calendar: Abbr. Thanksgiving vegetable
100, gradewise Rage
“Early in life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better ___ some noise”: Malcolm X Take care of Journey
Jessica of “Fantastic Four”
Reeves of “The Matrix”
One on the front lines during a crisis Do a new production of, as a recording Alternative to carpeting
“You bet!” Became a millionaire, say
“It’s ___ of the times”
Finish first in a race
Factoryinspecting org. Crown wearer at a fall football game Bullets and such
Since, informally
Turn topsyturvy
Tight embrace Advanced deg. for a writer or musician
Hair tamer ___ Trench (deepest point on earth) Unmanned Dept. of Defense aircraft
56 Rob
57&58
Collective consciousness … or a hint to the ends of 19-, 35- and 52-Across “Beats me!” Qatari leader Lake bordering Cleveland
Kick up ___
(be unruly) Web portal with a butterfly logo
Bucks and does 47 52 59 60 61
62 63 64
1
2 3
4 5 6
7 8
9 10 11 12 14
20 21
DOWN
“… happily ever ___”
Prize money Light beam splitter
Like a go-go-go personality Certain
New Haven collegians “Allahu ___!” (Muslim cry) Brunch, e.g. Invite on a date
One’s equals Faucet problem ___ Reader (magazine with the slogan “Cure ignorance”) Like lemons Dull photo finish
“Bye Bye Bye” boy band Incorrect 25 26 27 28 29
30 31 32 33 36 ___ and tonic “Understood” Fifth-mostcommon family name in China
Round of applause “Moby-Dick” captain
A few
“___ Be” (2010 #1 hit by the Black Eyed Peas)
Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, for two
Rapper ___ Khalifa
Circular windows 37
38 43 44
45
47 48
49 50
51 52 53
54 55
Popular gift shop purchase Actor Dennis Greetings Singer
Gaye
Cooking device in a fast-food restaurant Injures
Ready for battle
Bête ___ “Little Orphan ___”
Passover observance ___-certified organic
Double ___ Oreos DoorDash list Not us
ANSWER TO SATURDAY’S PU
LE
Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS.
Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).
Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay.
Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/ learning/xwords. 3/8/21
Dear Readers: Every year during this time I step away from my column to work on other creative projects. I hope you enjoy these “Best Of ” Q&As from 10 years ago. Today’s topic is: customer service.
Dear Amy: This week, I was fired from a customerservice job. I had only been at the job for three weeks. The incident leading to my firing happened when I was caught off guard by a very young customer who was angry about an answer I gave her. I tried to steer her to my manager. The girl refused to see the manager and tweeted about my company and me that night. The next day, I called my supervisor to alert her about the angry customer. I was shocked to hear our headquarters caught wind of the tweet, which stated that I was unkind to this customer. I am a compassionate person. Tell your readers to count to 10 when they are angry, even if they are “right” in a commercial situation.
— Fired
Dear Fired: Twitter and Facebook have made it very easy for consumers to broadcast their praise about products and services. These same tools are being used by consumers to complain about services and single out specific employees. I admit to having done this myself.
Recently, after a very frustrating encounter with an airline employee during a delayed flight, I took to Twitter with a nonspecific, snarky complaint.
Within minutes, I heard back from the corporate office of the airline, asking for the name of the employee I was complaining about. I declined to provide it (and the lesson to me is that I’ll never do that again).
Sometimes a complaint is a vent and not grounds for punishment or dismissal.
I agree with your admonition to count to 10 before pressing “send.” I also urge companies not to overreact to unverified tweets or postings, especially when these complaints could be used to improve service through training.
Dear Amy: I’m responding to the letter from “Fired,” the customer service worker who was fired after an angry customer took to Twitter with complaints.
I am a customer service manager, and I have noticed in recent years that angry customers have become increasingly more confrontational.
While registering complaints through social networks can make organizations better at serving customers, it also can lead to abuse of customer service personnel. Bad customer service shouldn’t be tolerated, but more often I am seeing customers who come in looking for a fight, wanting to post that scathing review, wanting retribution for an unknown transgression.
It’s not uncommon for customers to scream at us, insult us and threaten to have us fired.
My co-workers and I have had customers take our pictures, and some post those photos with hateful commentary — and even our names — on Facebook and Twitter pages.
One customer videoed a conversation with a customer service representative and posted it on YouTube with the representative’s name, referred to her as “a stupid pig,” and encouraged further confrontation from strangers. Many times, we’ve found online reviews of our organization that include unfounded claims of racism and theft, reviews that are sexually explicit and overtly racist.
— Management
Dear Management: Just as networking through social media makes for many wonderful stories of positive connections, the ability to surreptitiously record encounters and post thoughtless or unfounded complaints can lead to abuse. People with complaints should think before they Tweet, and management should confirm the veracity of complaints before making any sudden moves.
Dear Amy: It is important for people to understand that servers and store salespeople are fired for customer complaints.
I only complain if the service is seriously lacking. If the service is good, I find the manager and sing their praises.
— Equal Opportunity Praiser
Dear Praiser: I agree that we should all put as much energy into our praise, as we do into crafting our outraged and clever complaints.