COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY MANESS WARNER
NOVEMBER 1, 2021
THE YEAR 2020 WILL BE KNOWN FOR THE
HARD FOUGHT BATTLE BETWEEN DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS OVER THE PRESIDENCY OF THE
UNITED STATES, AND THE RAMPAGES OF A “NOVEL” VIRUS CALLED COVID-19. IT WAS A
BRAND NEW BABY DISEASE, AND A DANGEROUS ONE. FINALLY, SEVERAL VACCINES WERE
TESTED, SOME HAVE CLAIMED TOO RAPIDLY, BUT THREE WERE DECLARED SAFE AND EFFECTIVE.
BY 2021 SHOTS WERE GOING INTO ARMS, BUT FIRST ACCESS WAS DETERMINED BY THOSE
DEEMED TO HAVE THE GREATEST NEED.
THE VACCINE SUPPLY HAS IMPROVED
TREMENDOUSLY NOW, BUT IN MARCH WHEN I WENT IN TO GET MINE IT WAS RATIONED. DUE
TO MY AGE AND SOME LUNG PROBLEMS, I QUALIFIED. WHEN I CALLED A LOCAL NUMBER FOR
INFORMATION I WAS TOLD THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PRESENT ID. I TOLD THEM THAT MY
DRIVER’S LICENSE HAD GONE OUT OF DATE, AND THEY TOLD ME THAT ANY PICTURE ID
COULD BE USED WITH PROOFS OF ADDRESS.
WHEN I GOT TO THE SITE I WAS AT
FIRST CONFRONTED RATHER SHARPLY ABOUT MY OFFICIAL ID. I PRESENTED MY TRANSIT
AUTHORITY PHOTO ID & MY PROOFS OF RESIDENCE, AND TOLD HER WITH FRUSTRATION
OF THE CHAIN OF REASONS WHY I DIDN’T HAVE AN UPDATED ID: THAT I HAD NEGLECTED
TO RENEW IT IMMEDIATELY SINCE I NO LONGER DRIVE, AND NOW WAS HAVING TO REAPPLY;
THAT AS A RESULT I HAD TO PROVIDE TWO MARRIAGE LICENSES. FOR THOSE, APPLICATIONS
HAD TO BE MADE TO THE COUNTIES WHERE THE MARRIAGES WERE PERFORMED. IN MY HOME
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, THEY WERE REQUIRING MY PICTURE ID TO ISSUE THE BIRTH
AND MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES. MY HOSPITAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE IS NOT ENOUGH ANYMORE.
IT HAS TO BE OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED. WITH A HANGUP HERE AND A HANGUP THERE, IT
WAS TAKING WEEKS. WHEN I FINISHED, THE YOUNG WOMAN HAD A SHEEPISH GRIN ON HER
FACE AND GAVE ME MY SHOT.
IF I WERE APPLYING TO WORK IN THE
STATE DEPARTMENT I WOULDN’T BE SURPRISED BY ANY OF THAT, BUT TO GO THROUGH THIS
TO RECEIVE A VITAL MEDICATION IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC SEEMS CONTRARY TO
PUBLIC HEALTH WISDOM. IN THAT SITUATION IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IT SHOULD BE GOOD
ENOUGH TO SHOW THAT I HAVE LIVED UNDER THE SAME NAME, HAVE PERFORMED WORK AND
PAID TAXES, AND HAVE LIVED AT THE SAME APARTMENT FOR OVER TEN YEARS. I HAD TO
PROVE CONCLUSIVELY WHO I WAS TO GET A LIFE SAVING VACCINATION.
DOES THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL THAT TO TAKE OFFICE? APPARENTLY PRESIDENT OBAMA
HAD TO PROVE THAT HE WAS NOT ACTUALLY BORN IN KENYA, BUT I THINK THAT HAD TO DO
WITH HIS BEING A BLACK MAN (KENYA, GET IT?). I CAN’T HELP WONDERING HOW MANY
HISPANIC PEOPLE ARE BEING INTIMIDATED TO THIS DAY ABOUT RECEIVING THE VACCINE
FOR FEAR OF BEING HUNTED DOWN BY HOMELAND SECURITY.
I SUGGEST THE FOLLOWING OFFICIAL ID
FOR SUCH A SITUATION. I THINK IT WOULD WORK FINE.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
This card
guarantees the holder permission to receive any and all essential human
services in a time of need, whether such condition may be temporary or long-term.
The phrase “the undeserving poor” shall never be used or implied. No ethnicity,
citizenship status, nor racial or religious standards shall be applied to
delimit basic human considerations.
THIS ARTICLE FROM REUTERS DISCUSSES
THE SAME ISSUES, AND PROPERLY HIGHLIGHTS TWO COMMERCIAL OUTLETS WHO HAVE SIMPLIFIED
THEIR PROCEDURES FOR GIVING OUT THE VACCINE. I STRONGLY APPROVE THEIR ACTIONS,
AND AM SURE THAT MANY OTHERS HAVE DONE THE SAME SINCE JANUARY.
IT IS FAIR TO POINT OUT THAT, ACCORDING TO THIS ARTICLE, THE
RESTRICTIONS ARE NOT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RULES, BUT THOSE COMING FROM THE STATES.
STATES RIGHTS IS AT THE CENTER OF RESTRICTIVE VOTER VALIDATION AND ELECTION
PROCESSES AND A NUMBER OF OTHER ISSUES AS WELL, AND EVEN IF THERE IS NO
INTENTION TO DO HARM TO THE CITIZENS THERE IS DAMAGE DONE BY HAVING SUCH A
CONFUSED AND CONTRADICTORY LEGAL MESS ACROSS THE NATION. AN ISSUE OF VOTING
RIGHTS AND HOW ELECTIONS ARE CONDUCTED, MUCH LESS HUMAN RIGHTS SUCH AS MEDICAL CARE, SHOULD BE FEDERAL RATHER THAN STATE OR
LOCAL. IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO PRODUCE ANYTHING APPROACHING FAIR TREATMENT.
HEALTHCARE & PHARMA
JANUARY 15, 2021 6:05 AM, UPDATED 10 MONTHS AGO
Some big U.S. pharmacies will not check ID before administering COVID-19 vaccines
By Richa Naidu, Tina Bellon, Aishwarya Venugopal
CHICAGO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Many
U.S. pharmacies, including those inside Kroger Co supermarkets and the
drugstore chain of CVS Health Corp, say they will not be checking IDs before
administering COVID-19 vaccines, leaving the door open to those who do not meet
states’ guidelines to jump the line.
FILE PHOTO: Healthcare workers
prepare Pfizer coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccinations in Los Angeles,
California, U.S., January 7, 2021. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
While the United States has distributed
more than 30 million vaccine doses, a little over 11 million had been
administered as of Thursday, a lag that prompted U.S. health secretary Alex
Azar to call on states to begin vaccinating the vulnerable older population and
those with certain chronic health conditions to get more vaccines into arms.
U.S. retailers face a choice of
strictly enforcing state eligibility rules with on-site identity checks,
or rely on an honor system that could allow people to ignore those
guidelines but also get more people inoculated.
“State and local guidelines vary
across the 40 public health jurisdictions we serve, but in most cases,
identification will not be required to receive the vaccine,” a Kroger
spokeswoman said. The biggest U.S. grocery chain has so far administered about
7,800 COVID-19 vaccines to healthcare workers and nursing home staff and
residents.
Twenty-two states have moved toward
using age as the main criteria for prioritizing inoculations, with four more
set to follow next week. Others are adhering to strict guidelines meant to
assure that scarce coronavirus vaccine supplies went first to healthcare
workers, nursing home residents and first responders.
Teachers and other “essential
workers” are supposed to be among those next in line as distribution widens,
but who qualifies as an essential worker varies by state.
“We are not planning to ask for ID
to receive a COVID-19 vaccination,” a CVS Health spokesman said. “These
vaccinations will be appointment-only in our stores and patients will have
already gone through an eligibility screening when they register for an
appointment on our website, through our app or via a 1-800 number.”
However, the accuracy of information
provided in eligibility screenings conducted by some companies is not
automatically checked at the vaccination sites.
Walgreens Boots Alliance said it
would follow state and local guidance on how to verify eligibility.
Hy-Vee, which operates grocery
stores and pharmacies in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin and other
Midwestern states, said it has included its own warning on its website that ID
may - or may not - be asked for prior to the shot being given. “So far, we have
had no problems,” a spokeswoman said.
Stop & Shop Supermarket, located
in the northeastern United States, said it would check IDs or pay stubs if
instructed to do so by individual states. Publix Super Markets, which operates
in Florida and other southeastern states, said people would need to provide
“proof of insurance and/or their driver’s license or social security card.”
PHOTOGRAPHS – KROGER AND CVS STORES
-- Slideshow ( 2 images )
“GET THEM INTO THE ARMS”
In Washington D.C., which relies on
pharmacy chains Safeway and Giant Food to administer vaccines, it is unclear
who verifies people’s healthcare worker status.
A district website allowing
healthcare workers to register for a vaccine tells them they will be verified
via their work ID badge or an employer letter during the pharmacy appointment.
But Giant Food in a statement said
it was just checking the photo ID and insurance card of anyone who secured an
appointment through the district’s website.
A spokeswoman for the DC health
department said the vaccination team would raise the issue with Giant Food.
Safeway parent Albertsons Companies Inc did not respond to requests for
comment.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious
disease expert at Vanderbilt University’s medical school, attributed the lack
of planning and diverging local guidance to chronic underfunding of the U.S.
healthcare system, with the ongoing pandemic straining resources further.
Schaffner said the solution was to
increase vaccine availability and hire more vaccinators.
“The more vaccines you have, the
less you have to worry about prioritization,” Schaffner said. “We know it’s not
going to be perfect, but who cares, we need to get them into the arms.”
Reporting By Richa Naidu in Chicago,
Tina Bellon in New York and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bangalore; Editing by Joe
White, Ed Tobin and Bill Berkrot
