Vaccination sites in Zhejiang encourage eligible elderly people to actively get vaccinated. Why should people over 60 years old be more active in getting vaccinated against the new coronavirus?

At 8:30 yesterday morning, at the COVID-19 vaccination site of the Wulin Subdistrict Community Health Service Center in Tianshui, the "red vests" and "white coats" were working in an orderly manner. Several elderly people who had received the COVID-19 vaccine sat quietly in the observation room.

A 76-year-old aunt who had just been vaccinated said with a smile: "Because I stay at home most of the time and seldom go out, I was not in a hurry to get vaccinated before. This time I came here to get vaccinated after hearing the call from the community."

This vaccination site is a temporary new coronavirus vaccination site set up by the Tianshui Wulin Street Community Health Service Center specifically for people over 60 years old. It mainly provides services to elderly people who have not yet been vaccinated.

"Uncle, please be careful on the steps. Let's register our information here first." A community worker helped Uncle Li, who was over 90 years old, to walk towards the vaccine information registration window.

Jin Ping, a staff member of the Public Health Department of Tianshui Wulin Street Community Health Service Center, introduced that the setting up of temporary vaccination sites is to provide maximum convenience for the elderly in the surrounding communities. Community workers will understand the vaccination needs of the elderly in each household. When a certain number of people is reached, vaccination sites will be opened and the elderly will be notified to come for vaccination.

In the registration room, the vaccination doctor was patiently confirming the physical condition of a 90-year-old man. Some time ago, the old man's physical examination report showed some abnormal indicators. In order to determine whether he was suitable for vaccination, he also brought the physical examination report. The doctor carefully checked the physical examination report and asked about the old man's current physical condition, confirming that the old man met the conditions for vaccination.

"I have always been worried that it would be unsafe to get vaccinated when I'm older. Now I feel a little more at ease after the vaccination. After all, the virus is highly contagious, and I'm also worried about passing the virus to my children," the old man said after receiving the vaccine.

In more than an hour, more than 20 elderly people came to get vaccinated.

The youngest is in his 70s and the oldest is over 90 years old

In order to increase the enthusiasm of the elderly over 60 years old to get vaccinated, Wulin Street specially prepared edible sunflower oil as a gift for the elderly who received the new crown vaccine for the first time, and more than 800 copies have been sent out so far. Yesterday morning, the Express reporter interviewed and observed at the vaccination site for more than an hour. More than 20 elderly people came to get vaccinated one after another. The youngest was in his 70s and the oldest was over 90 years old.

"The penetration rate of the new coronavirus vaccine is already very high, but there is still a gap among people over 60 years old. We have also taken many measures to publicize and encourage elderly people whose physical conditions permit to get vaccinated. For elderly people who need to be accompanied and whose children are not around, we will arrange special staff to provide them with assistance." said Cheng Xiangyang, a member of the Wulin Street Committee in charge of the new coronavirus vaccination.

In addition to the permanent registration room, vaccination room, and 30-minute observation area at the COVID-19 vaccination site, the Wulin Street COVID-19 vaccination site also has a special emergency room to respond to emergencies. Yesterday morning, the doctor on duty in the emergency room was Sun Hua, deputy chief physician of the Department of Geriatrics at the Hangzhou Red Cross Hospital. Since last month, Sun Hua has been on duty at several nearby COVID-19 vaccination sites for the elderly. She said that she had encountered several elderly people who felt dizzy and had sore arms after being vaccinated. These elderly people had some underlying diseases and generally felt better after a few minutes of rest. She did not encounter any elderly people who needed emergency rescue.

"The emergency room is a safety protection line set up for the elderly who are vaccinated. Although emergencies are rare, it is still very necessary to set it up. When we are on duty, we are always on standby and dare not relax."

Random survey:

How is the vaccination situation for people over 60 years old?

Yesterday afternoon, Express reporters randomly interviewed some elderly people aged 60 and above in communities along Stadium Road. Among them, the oldest was 86 years old and the youngest was 60 years old.

Among the 23 respondents, 12 elderly people had not received the COVID-19 vaccine, 10 elderly people had completed three doses of the vaccine, and one elderly person had just received the first dose last month. Most of the elderly who have completed the vaccination said that it was for the health of themselves and their families, and they did not experience obvious discomfort symptoms after the vaccination.

"Getting vaccinated is for your own health. It's a good thing and you must get it."

"I usually live with my daughter's family, and getting vaccinated is for the health of my family."

"The community called on us to get vaccinated, and I didn't have any serious health problems, so I got the vaccine."

Why are people over 60 years old

Should we actively get vaccinated against the new coronavirus?

The entire population is susceptible to the novel coronavirus, and among the susceptible population, people over 60 are more vulnerable than people of other age groups. As people age, their immune system function declines, and their body functions decline. Most elderly people also have underlying diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, and may also have malnutrition. These factors will make the elderly more susceptible to the novel coronavirus than people of other age groups, and the symptoms after infection will be more serious.

Many elderly people also believe that they will not be infected with the new coronavirus if they do not go out often. Even if the elderly do not travel far away often, they are still susceptible to the new coronavirus in places where the elderly often gather, such as vegetable markets, farmers' markets, shopping malls and supermarkets, wedding and funeral gatherings, elderly activity rooms, and chess and card rooms.

In addition, although the elderly have a small range of activities, the risk of transmission within family members still exists. The elderly are fully vaccinated against the new coronavirus to protect themselves as well as their families, relatives, friends and neighbors.

The physical functions of the elderly are weaker than those of people in other age groups. Once infected with COVID-19, the risk of moderate to severe illness is much higher than that of young people and children. Infection with the new coronavirus may also aggravate the existing underlying diseases of the elderly. Under the impact of multiple symptoms, the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and even death among the infected elderly is greatly increased.

A survey shows that after being infected with the new coronavirus, the risk of hospitalization for people aged 65-74 increases five times, and the risk of death increases 65 times compared to people aged 18-29; the risk of hospitalization for people aged 75-84 increases eight times, and the risk of death increases 150 times; the risk of hospitalization for people over 85 years old increases ten times, and the risk of death increases 370 times.

Elderly people do not get vaccinated and get two or three shots of vaccine

What is the difference in protection?

The Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council reported at a press conference on June 5: As of June 5, 2022, 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have reported a total of 338,437,200 doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Among them, 230,411,000 elderly people over 60 years old have been vaccinated, and 218,438,000 have completed the full course of vaccination, accounting for 87.27% and 82.73% of the elderly population, respectively. 169,447,000 people have completed enhanced immunization.

Through monitoring and evaluation of areas in China where Omicron virus is widespread and severe this year, it can be found that there is a significant difference in the protective effect between no vaccination and vaccination with two or three doses. The difference is mainly reflected in the changes in antibody levels and the differences in morbidity, severity and mortality rates.

According to information released by the Hong Kong Department of Health on May 5, the mortality rate of elderly people aged 70-79 who have not been vaccinated with the new crown vaccine is 9 times and 34 times that of people of the same age who have received two and three doses respectively.

In addition, the results of research by relevant experts during the Omicron epidemic in Jilin Province showed that among people over 60 years old, the incidence of severe illness in those who did not receive the new crown vaccine or only received one dose of inactivated vaccine was more than 20 times the incidence of severe illness in those who received two or three doses of vaccine.

Therefore, various practices and data can show that vaccination with the new coronavirus vaccine is very effective in reducing severe illness and death among the elderly. Therefore, the elderly who meet the conditions for the new coronavirus vaccine but have not yet been vaccinated should go to a nearby vaccination site for vaccination as soon as possible.

Do not do nucleic acid test within 48 hours after vaccination

Existing data shows that the highest age record for receiving the Chinese new coronavirus vaccine at home and abroad is 106. According to relevant data statistics, the new coronavirus vaccine is safe for the elderly.

Elderly people who meet the conditions for the new coronavirus vaccination but have not yet been vaccinated should be vaccinated as soon as possible, and those who have not completed the full vaccination should be vaccinated as soon as possible.

Elderly people with underlying diseases should be vaccinated when their condition is stable. For example, some patients with hypertension and diabetes should be vaccinated after their condition is stabilized by taking medication and changing their lifestyle. If the elderly cannot judge whether they are in a stable period, they can consult a vaccinating doctor or clinician and decide whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine after evaluation by a professional doctor.

After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, you need to stay for 30 minutes. If you experience any discomfort, you must seek medical attention immediately. If the symptoms persist for a long time and you suspect that the symptoms are related to the COVID-19 vaccine, you must report it as soon as possible.

Currently, Hangzhou implements regular nucleic acid testing within 72 hours, but it should be noted that within 48 hours of receiving the new crown vaccine, the vaccine recipient cannot undergo nucleic acid testing. In addition, you need to drink plenty of water and get enough rest.

In what situations can vaccination not be given?

What underlying diseases do elderly people have that require them to postpone vaccination?

According to the "Technical Guidelines for COVID-19 Vaccination (First Edition)", common contraindications to vaccination include:

1. Those who are allergic to the active ingredients of the vaccine, any inactive ingredients, or substances used in the production process, or those who have had allergies when previously vaccinated with the same type of vaccine;

2. Those who have had severe allergic reactions to vaccines in the past (such as acute allergic reactions, angioedema, etc.);

3. Patients with uncontrolled epilepsy and other serious neurological diseases (such as transverse myelitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, etc.);

4. People who are running a fever, or suffering from an acute disease, or an acute attack of a chronic disease, or an uncontrolled serious chronic disease.

5. Pregnant women: When the contraindications no longer exist, they can be vaccinated.

People in the gout attack stage, people in the acute attack stage of heart disease and coronary heart disease, patients with uncontrolled hyperthyroidism or exophthalmos, people with acute toothache, people taking anti-inflammatory drugs, patients with acute complications of diabetes, and hypertensive patients with systolic blood pressure ≥160mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥100mmHg should postpone vaccination and wait until their condition stabilizes and after evaluation and consent from a professional doctor.

In principle, patients who are taking antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs and whose condition is stable, patients whose coronary heart disease is effectively controlled after PCI intervention, diabetic patients with fasting blood glucose ≤13.9mmol/L, cancer patients with well-controlled condition, those with abnormal liver function and stable condition, and patients with hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism and stable condition can all be vaccinated with the new coronavirus vaccine.

Chengshi Interactive·Metropolitan Express reporter Xu Fang trainee Wei Xiyan

Comprehensive: Healthy China, National Health Commission official website, Zhejiang Health Education, Healthy Hangzhou