New Program Aims To Remove Barriers To Vaccine For Older Adults

LANSING, MI — A new pilot program launched by Michigan health officials aims to remove barriers to the COVID-19 vaccine for Michiganders 60 and older.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Protect Michigan Commission announced details for a new program to help enhance the state's vaccine equity strategy, officials said in a news release Tuesday.

Michigan providers federally enrolled to administer doses of the COVID-19 vaccine can apply for the program by Monday and, if accepted into the community outreach pilot, can request up to 2,500 additional doses of coronavirus vaccine to help remove barriers for those ages 60 and up who are most vulnerable to the effects of the virus, officials said.

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“We want to make sure all Michiganders have access to the safe and effective vaccines as we work toward our goal of vaccinating 70% of Michiganders age 16 and up as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health in Michigan. “We are working hard to eliminate any barriers to vaccine access. Your ability to get a vaccine should not be impacted by whether you are in a rural or urban part of the state, are lower income, or don’t have access to a car, a computer, the Internet or don’t speak English. This is what equity means.”

Health officials on Tuesday said the goal of the new pilot program is to help remove barriers to vaccine access for Michiganders 60 and older who live in communities with high Social Vulnerability Index and high COVID-19 mortality rates.

SVI, officials explained, is a tool that uses census data to identify places where a community may have more difficulty preventing human suffering and financial loss in a disaster. The tool assesses the extent that 15 known indicators are present within a community based on socioeconomic status, family composition and disability, minority status and language, housing and transportation, officials explained.

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The state said applicants are encouraged to highlight strong partnerships with community-based organizations, as well as demonstrate their ability to effectively reach out to their most vulnerable residents over the age of 60.

Applications must be emailed by 5 p.m., Monday. An external review panel will complete the review of the applications and select awardees by March 8, the state said in its news release.

“With this community outreach pilot project, we want to increase the vaccination rate of individuals who are most at risk of negative COVID-19 outcomes and to identify innovative practices for effective vaccination strategies for vulnerable communities,” Khaldun said. “We will consider continuing the program based on the availability of the vaccine and the success of the pilot in achieving our goals to remove barriers.”