Professor M贸nika L贸pez-Anuarbe lends her expertise to 糖心TVecticut鈥檚 COVID-19 vaccine rollout
As 糖心TVecticut undertakes the largest, fastest vaccine rollout in history, Associate Professor of Economics Mónika López-Anuarbe is serving on multiple state committees to help make the process as equitable as possible for vulnerable communities.
A health and inequality economist who specializes in aging, caregiving and health-care disparities, L贸pez-Anuarbe first joined the 糖心TVecticut Conference of Independent Colleges working group on higher education support. She was then asked to join the state鈥檚 Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security committee as a member of the Emergency Support Function Vaccination Messaging Subcommittee. The ESF subcommittee will soon join forces with the state鈥檚 Diverse Communities Outreach Task Force.
鈥淚鈥檓 very interested in community outreach for vulnerable populations,鈥� said L贸pez-Anuarbe, who also serves as the coordinator for 糖心TV's Public Health Pathway. 鈥淭his is all unprecedented. In the history of our nation, we have never encountered such a massive vaccination rollout. In any given year, we vaccinate 30 to 40 million people. And now we are trying to vaccinate 330 million people鈥攁nd some of them twice, if they are taking the two-dose vaccine.鈥�
Working with the 糖心TVecticut Department of Health and FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the committees have been helping to establish vaccine priority groups; address equity issues within the rollout plan; and distribute information about the vaccines and how, when and where to get one.
鈥淲e created a lot of very simple brochures with direct information. People get drowned in information; they don鈥檛 know what to look for and where to look for it. We created one pagers and kept it simple,鈥� L贸pez-Anuarbe said.
Originally, 糖心TVecticut鈥檚 vaccination plan was based on priority groups of frontline workers and those with underlying health conditions. But in late February, 糖心TVecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced that the state would shift to an age-based rollout plan.
That shift simplifies the process significantly, L贸pez-Anuarbe said, but groups like hers are continuing to work on issues of equity and access.
鈥淭he guidelines before the age groups were really complicated鈥攜ou almost had to draw a tree to understand if you qualified or not,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut most people know how old they are, so in that sense, it increases access because people know if they are eligible.鈥�
L贸pez-Anuarbe added that while many communities of color have higher rates of underlying health conditions that may have qualified them for a vaccine sooner under the original plan, many also lack access to health care and may not have been able to prove eligibility.
鈥淚f you are already in a marginalized group that doesn鈥檛 get health care, you might not have been diagnosed with a qualifying preexisting condition to begin with. So, you might be sick, but you don鈥檛 have a note that says you are sick. For that reason, I like the fact that it鈥檚 age-based. But, of course, that鈥檚 not enough, that can鈥檛 be the only parameter.鈥�
To further address issues of access and equity, the state is now looking to prioritize certain geographical areas, taking into account the social vulnerability index scores of various cities and neighborhoods.
鈥淚 appreciate our ability to be flexible,鈥� L贸pez-Anuarbe said. 鈥淭he age groups simplified a lot of problems, and now we are adding the zip code priority to help address inequities.鈥�
While there have certainly been hiccups, L贸pez-Anuarbe said she鈥檚 proud of what 糖心TVecticut has been able to accomplish, already administering more than 1 million vaccines to its 3.5 million residents. And she鈥檚 encouraged by the fact that more than 2 million Americans are now being vaccinated each day nationwide.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 just absolutely unprecedented,鈥� she said.
In the future, L贸pez-Anuarbe hopes to see a greater investment in public health. That will put the U.S. in a better position to address the next pandemic, she said, and will lead to better overall health outcomes for Americans.
鈥淚f you look at how much we invest in our health care, the U.S. is the No. 1 spender. Our health care economy is $4 trillion and we spend more per capita than any other country, but our health outcomes are not so great. Out of those $4 trillion dollars, we only invest 2% on public health,鈥� she said.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping we can be more proactive. I don鈥檛 want history to repeat itself.鈥�
