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As of January 2022 62.8% of eligible Americans have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This milestone is significant and essential to help protect the nation’s health. Unfortunately, studies show that vaccination rates for the low-income Medicaid population are lower than that of the general population.

As kids head back to school and the days grow shorter, we all realize it isn’t quite as warm as it was a few weeks ago. We are deep in the midst of the delta surge of COVID-19 infections. What is different about this wave, versus earlier surges in infection, is that unvaccinated individuals are 49 times more likely to be hospitalized and 32 times more likely to die from COVID than those that are vaccinated. 

COVID-19 has taken millions of lives worldwide and continues to be a huge threat. Thankfully with the vaccine rollout ramping up across the nation, we can expect the number of deaths and hospitalizations to slow down. Getting everyone vaccinated is important in moving towards herd immunity.

As the mass vaccination effort continues to ramp up across the country, Medicare and Medicaid payers and accountable care organizations are looking for ways to ensure their members get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible. Many Medicare members fall into vulnerable populations due to age, while Medicaid members can be more susceptible to comorbidities, and more making it essential that both populations get vaccinated quickly. Member populations may also require a greater level of education around vaccination due to hesitancy of the vaccine or because they may encounter logistical obstacles as they schedule and travel to their appointments.

As the weather gets colder and the days get shorter, flu season looms. You see flu shot signs as you drive by local pharmacies and employers start to put a plan together to prevent flu from decreasing productivity in the office and crippling the workforce.