Vaccine disparities lead to concerns for ‘normal’ year
Rates among city students dramatically lower than their suburban peers
Fewer than half of kids ages 12-15 in Connecticut are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus — and statewide estimates mask stark disparities between cities and affluent suburbs that grow even larger among children, a Courant review of state data shows.
In Hartford and West Hartford, about 64% and 83% of community members ages 45-64 are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, respectively. But fewer than 26% of Hartford children ages 12-17 are fully vaccinated against COVID19, compared to about 76% of West Hartford children of the same age.
A number of Connecticut’s wealthiest towns, including Greenwich, New Canaan and Westport, all have COVID-19 vaccination rates above 70% for the 12-17 age group, while fewer than 30% of kids that age are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Waterbury and Bridgeport, and less than one-third in New Haven.
The dramatically lower youth vaccination rates among some of Connecticut’s largest cities compared to suburban areas leaves some students and families concerned about the feasibility of a fully in-person school year.
After spending her sophomore year of high school learning from home, Hartford resident 16-yearold Rhaili-Em Lowe decided to dedicate several weeks of her summer break encouraging young community members to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in hopes of a better shot at consistent in-person learning.
“I’ve been a remote learner for one-and-a-half years. I’m trying not to have it happen again,” said Lowe, a rising junior at the Connecticut IB Academy in East Hartford.
Dr. Ho-Choong Chang, the chief of pediatrics for Community Health Center, Inc., described the drastically lower rates as a
“double-hit” to the communities that were already suffering the most from the coronavirus.
“They have higher hospitalization rates, higher death rates. This is a super concerning problem with regard to health equity,” he said.
Vaccinations lag for Black, Hispanic kids
Racial disparities in vaccination rates among children in the same age group are also clear. About 75% of Asian or Pacific Islander and about 60% of white children ages 12-15 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, compared to about 48% of Hispanic children, 49% of multiracial children and 35% of Black children in the same age group.
“I do think a lot of it has to do with the long history of institutionalized racism in our country, and how people of color have come to mistrust the medical establishment — in many cases deservingly so,” Chang said. “Our job is to acknowledge that history and realize that we have an opportunity here to regain the trust of folks . ...
That is certainly a challenging conversation to have, but a very important one.”
According to state data published Thursday, about 62% of all Connecticut residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. That percentage trends downward by age group, with about 56% of residents ages 16-24 fully vaccinated and just over 47% of residents ages 12-15 fully vaccinated.
Those age-group numbers are about 10% higher if including younger residents who have received one dose. However, with the Pfizer-BioNTech shot being the only one approved for people under 18, minors who are partially vaccinated as of mid-August may not be fully immune to the virus for another month or so. Individuals receiving the Pfizer shot must wait three weeks between the first and second dose, and another two weeks after the final dose, to be considered near-fully protected against COVID-19. Children under 12 are not yet eligible for any coronavirus vaccines.
Lowe said a number of her friends and classmates are getting vaccinated to continue learning in classrooms, but she is still concerned about the potential impacts of the overall lower vaccination rates among teens and young adults compared to older age groups.
As an intern for the Community Renewal Team in Hartford, Lowe worked with other participants in the organization’s Summer Youth Employment & Learning Program to promote COVID-19 vaccine awareness through projects ranging from creating yard signs to hosting an online panel focused on addressing vaccine hesitancy and misinformation spread through social media.
“We all miss each other,” she said of her friends. “I want to experience my junior year in some type of normalcy.”
Through his work at Community Health Center’s pediatric medical clinic in Hartford, Chang said he encounters vaccine-hesitant families “quite commonly now” and concerns often relate to misinformation, as well as concerns about side effects.
Side effects, safety cited as concerns
Of more than 312,000 Connecticut residents who participated in the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey from June 23-July 5 and reported they did not plan on getting vaccinated against COVID-19, 55% said they were concerned about side effects, 50% said they planned to “wait and see if it is safe” and 36% said they “don’t trust COVID19 vaccines.” Respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer.
“Unfortunately, the internet and social media play a huge role in how people view health-related matters, and this includes vaccines,” Chang said.
Most people know at a rational level not to believe everything they read online, but on an emotional or behavioral level, they may still act upon what they’ve seen, Chang explained, and sometimes there may be a fact somewhere in what parents have read, distorted by “layers and layers of misinformation.”
For example, Chang said health care providers should acknowledge that the COVID-19 vaccine has side effects, but more serious ones, like myocarditis — inflammation of the heart — are “extremely rare.”
“This concept of trying to balance risk versus benefit can be challenging for some families to understand ... and that’s our job as health care providers, to lead them through that thought process and conversation ... so they can make a decision that’s in their best interest,” he said.
While older teens and young adults may be able to do their own research and develop their own stances on vaccine efficacy and safety, kids around age 12 “by and large are really leaning on their parents or guardians to help them with this decision-making process,” Chang said. “If the parent is coming from the standpoint that they’re very hesitant, then of course the child will be as well.”
Schools promoting vaccination
Since the Pfizer-BioNTech shot became eligible for teens ages 16 and 17 in April and teens ages 12-15 in May, many towns and cities set up clinics in high school gymnasiums and auditoriums so students did not have to miss classes or find a ride to get vaccinated. Efforts have continued over the summer, and are ramping up again before the start of the school year. In Hartford, families who attended coronavirus vaccination sites at local schools in early August were entered to win a $1,000 or $100 gift card, and clinics are expected to continue into September.
Easily accessible and portable setups are particularly important in areas where families may not always have access to reliable transportation, said Waterbury Superintendent of Schools Verna Ruffin. About 29% of Waterbury children ages 12-17 are fully vaccinated.
“We’ve not ceased trying to get more adults and students to [get vaccinated],” she said. “Our plan is not over,”
In addition to vaccines, Ruffin said health and safety measures like wearing masks and frequent handwashing and sanitation “play a critical part in opening schools” and it’s important to continue following them consistently, especially with the spread of the delta variant across the state.
“We are wearing masks and should continue to do so until further direction and guidance. We are navigating some unknowns with the new variant, and we want to be cognizant of [that],” she said. “We’re taking it very seriously, and in every instance possible, we encourage and we support our teens as well as our families and our staff getting the vaccination.”