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02/28/2021 11:00 PMAs of Feb. 26, about 12.92 percent of the Town of East Haven’s population has received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is “just shy of state average for total population,” according to Mike Pascucilla, director of East Shore District Health Department (ESDHD).
While East Haven overall percentage may be close to the state’s average, the latest numbers reported for the first dose coverage among those 75 and older showed East Haven drastically behind its neighboring towns, including the four other towns that are being served by ESDHD under its Mass Dispensing Area (MDA). In East Haven, 37.95 percent of its residents 75 and older have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, compared to North Branford’s 70.49 percent, Madison’s 79.78 percent, Guilford’s 88.61 percent, and Branford’s 66.04 percent.
Though East Haven has held weekly vaccination clinics, Pascucilla admits that there are barriers in the process, particularly for those in the older population. All vaccine appointments for ESDHD’s clinics—with one held every weekday rotating through each of the five towns in its MDA—require an appointment through the federal Vaccine Administration Management System, which requires Internet access and an email address.
“It’s not a secret that the VAMS is not user-friendly, but we are working with the town to try to do our part to reduce those barriers,” said Pascucilla. “Unfortunately East Haven is lagging behind” in the percentage of those over 75 who have received the first dose of the vaccine.
“We are waiting for latest numbers and hoping they’ll be closer to state average,” Pascucilla continued. “It’s a community that’s been identified as behind vaccination rates, but we are working with the mayor’s staff and looking to make additional slots available.”
Michelle Benivegna, the assistant director of administration for the Town of East Haven, has been spearheading efforts to reach more of the town’s senior population, noting that East Haven is in the top five communities in the state for number of COVID cases and the vaccine rate “is not acceptable.” She and other members of the administration recently set up tables at Woodview Elderly Housing and East Farm Village Apartments to help residents.
“We got them registered and scheduled appointments so they didn’t have to worry about dealing with VAMS because it’s quite challenging,” said Benivegna. “Many elderly don’t have computers, emails, or cell phones, which are all required in VAMS, so we tried to circumvent that because our goal is getting the elderly and our most high-risk population vaccinated.”
In addition to the technical challenges presented by VAMS, the limited number of vaccines available also contributes to the issue. Pascucilla noted that there is a “vaccination shortage, especially with educators coming online.”
“The governor has made a decision to prioritize educators and get our schools 100 percent open in person,” said Pascucilla. “We’re reallocating some resources to teachers, but we are still committed to seniors and will work to vaccinate our most vulnerable population.”
Along with prioritizing educators, Governor Ned Lamont recently released the eligibility schedule for vaccines. New age groups become eligible to register for their vaccine every three weeks from March 1 to May 3. Despite the fact that new groups are becoming eligible to register in VAMS, ESDHD continues to receive 300 vaccines a week for its MDA.
“We do know there are some 75 and older and many 65 and older who haven’t been vaccinated yet and as these phases are opening up, it’s getting a little challenging because we don’t have as many vaccines as we’d like,” said Pascucilla. “We’ve been able to request more and on some occasions, we’ve been getting more and we’re trying to be fair and give an equal allotment throughout our communities. In East Haven, we were recently able to allocate additional doses based on statistics.”
Though additional doses may be allocated to the East Haven clinics, residents can choose any clinic within their MDA. Pascucilla noted that while some residents travel to other towns, most are getting their vaccines in their hometown. He also pointed out that closed clinics open only to East Haven residents have been held in order to close the gap in numbers.
Feb. 26 marked the first vaccine clinic in East Haven where second doses were administered, bringing 120 people through the clinic between first and second doses. Benivegna reported that there are currently more than 150 people on the waitlist if spots open up for a vaccine.
“We definitely have some work to do, but the biggest challenge is that there’s not enough vaccines,” said Benivegna. “East Shore knows they have a commitment from the town to hold as many clinics as we need to. If they could get us the vaccine, we’ll get it in the residents’ arms.”
Though the vaccine is free to the public, ESDHD is seeing an increase to expenses. Pascucilla reported that while some funding has been received, it does not match the expenses the department has incurred in administration costs, hiring of extra staff, setup of clinics, and more.
ESDHD is funded by the state and the towns in its district. Each town pays $8.99 per resident, while the state was contributing $1.85 per resident with that amount recently being cut.
“The shortage of funding and resources at the local level are showing and we really need our state to make a better investment in local public health. We got cut eight percent [in state funding] in the middle of pandemic,” said Pascucilla. “The $1.85 from the state was not enough and now we’re not even getting that. We’re spending money we don’t have, but we have a mission. Our focus is getting as many vaccinations to people as possible because that’s going to get us to our new norm.”
Because Madison and Guilford are part of the MDA but not part of the ESDHD, the towns will be billed and will be contributing funding to offset the costs.
Pascucilla is thankful for the support he has received from the towns in his MDA and the staff and volunteers at the clinics. Benivegna has also been impressed with the residents who have volunteered to help their neighbors in their clinics.
Both she and Pascucilla encourage all residents to continue to wear masks, practice social distancing, and follow other COVID-19 protocols. Benivegna also assures residents that she and the administrative staff will do all they can to help all residents receive the vaccine.
“We have a very diverse population here and we want everyone to know that the vaccine is safe and the process is safe—there should be no worry that anyone’s information will be shared with any other agencies,” said Benivegna. “Our mission is to get people vaccinated and beat COVID. That’s the mission.”
The Town of East Haven holds vaccine clinics on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the East Haven Senior Center, 91 Taylor Avenue. Those who are eligible to receive the vaccine must be registered in the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS) as walk-ins are not permitted. To register for the vaccine, visit the Department of Public Health website with a link provided on www.townofeasthavenct.org under “Register for COVID 19 Vaccine.” After completing the registration process, registrants will receive an automated email with further instructions. Residents who need assistance with the registration process can call 203-468-3191.