45 Percent of Adults Over 65 Lack Account for COVID Vaccine Sign-Up

A study from the University of Michigan's Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation based on data from the National Poll on Healthy Aging found 45 percent of adults age 65 to 80, and 42 percent of all adults 50 to 80, lack a COVID-19 vaccine enrollment account with their health provider's portal system, reports Futurity . Slightly less than 50 percent of black older adults and 53 percent of Hispanic older adults had no account as of June 2020, versus 39 percent of white older adults. Men were less likely than women to have enrolled, although the gap has narrowed since 2018. People 65 to 80 were less likely to have a patient portal account compared with those 50 to 64, although usage among both demographics has grown since 2018. "Right now, one important thing that we can do for older adults is encourage and help them to sign up for patient portal access, or log in again if they haven't in a while, if their provider offers one, and especially if it will be used as part of the COVID-19 vaccination process," explained Michigan Medicine's Preeti Malani. "If they don't have a computer, or they need help navigating the technology, they can appoint a trusted adult as their 'proxy' to access their account."