More research is coming out confirming that despite being the largest healthcare platform, primary care remains a largely untapped resource in vaccine administration.
Late last month, a survey from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) revealed that 85 percent of independent practices and 45 percent of hospital or health system-owned practices actively seeking the COVID-19 vaccine for their patients reported they have not obtained enough at the time the research was conducted. Now, a survey from the Primary Care Collaborative and the Larry A. Green Center finds that less than a fifth (19 percent) of responding physicians say they are currently administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
The survey took place from Jan. 15 to Jan. 19 and included responses from 1,065 U.S. primary care physicians spanning across all 50 states. Nearly a third of respondents said they have “no idea” when or if their practice will get the vaccine. And 32 percent of respondents say they have not been included in any state or regional planning and do not know if or when their practice will get the vaccine. Another quarter say they are waiting for delivery of the doses.
At the same time, primary care is already advancing vaccine efforts. Respondents report supporting the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in several ways:
- referrals: 47 percent are referring patients to a known source when they call to ask for the vaccine
- education: 42 percent have educational information in their practice to share with patients
- outreach: 30 percent are proactively notifying all their patients about how to get the vaccine
A New York Times report last week noted that there are roughly 500,000 primary care doctors in the U.S., and these are the clinicians who have traditionally administered nearly half of all adult vaccinations, inoculating their patients against pneumonia, flu and other infectious diseases. The report said, “While most physician offices can’t handle storage for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine because of its need for special freezers, doctors say they could easily administer the Moderna vaccine with adequate storage measures as well as some of the others likely to become available soon.”
It should also be mentioned that it’s been a month since the survey took place, meaning the primary care/vaccine delivery gap could be closing some. But to date, public health officials, both on the federal and state levels, have focused most of their efforts on larger vaccination sites as opposed to smaller physician practices. To that point, the research found that for some physicians, the difference in receiving the vaccine or not is being part of a health system. About 44 percent reported that their local health systems can get the vaccine, but small or independent practices cannot. A majority of respondents believe primary care should be partnering with public health (65 percent) and local health systems (62 percent) in COVID-19 vaccine delivery.
What’s more, six in 10 practices said they are willing and ready to assist with vaccine distribution, but face obstacles, such as lack of storage, staffing, or PPE required. This is despite the fact that primary care can help reach vulnerable and at-risk patients and has vast vaccine experience. Among respondents, 20 percent were practicing in rural communities, and 17 percent were caring for almost exclusively Medicaid covered patients, and 60 percent had patient panels in which at least 75 percent of patients have multiple chronic conditions.
Last week, the Biden administration did announce the launch of the Federally Qualified Health Center program that will provide more vaccines for Community Health Centers that are reaching the country’s underserved and most vulnerable communities.
On the positive front, more primary care clinicians are receiving shots. The vast majority (89 percent) of surveyed clinicians say that have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Now only 6 percent of respondents say that they can’t get the vaccine for their practice's clinicians or staff. Yet, vaccine hesitancy still exists even among primary care: 13 percent report having clinicians in their office who are against use of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the survey.
The researchers stated, “It is essential for the Biden Administration to incorporate U.S. primary care practices into national COVID-19 vaccine promotion, education and administration strategies, with sufficient funding and support. It is also critical to support communication infrastructure between primary care and other key sectors, e.g., public health, community-based organizations, hospitals, and others to enable vaccine coordination, record keeping and distribution.”
