The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday it is partnering with dialysis clinics to provide COVID-19 vaccines to health care workers and patients with chronic kidney disease.
The agency will be working with the two largest operators of dialysis clinics nationally, DaVita Inc. and Fresenius Medical Care North America, as well as other dialysis providers to support these vaccination efforts.
“This effort is another important step in making sure that vaccines reach the most medically vulnerable communities and that equity continues to anchor our efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. “People on dialysis who contract COVID-19 often have severe adverse health outcomes — half require hospitalization and 20% to 30% die from COVID-19.”
The public health agency noted that advanced-stage chronic kidney disease also has a disproportionate effect on minorities including Blacks, Hispanics and American Indians/Alaska Natives. Although these groups are more likely to require long-term dialysis treatments, they are less likely to receive a kidney transplant than non-Hispanic Whites, the CDC said.
An estimated 34% of people receiving dialysis are Black while 19% are Hispanic. About 22% of staff in dialysis clinics are Black.
More than 550,000 people receive regular dialysis treatments each year through the Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease Program, according to the CDC. Partnering dialysis clinics will participate in this program to administer COVID-19 vaccines to their patients and staff.
Dialysis clinics have experience administering flu and hepatitis B vaccinations to their patients and also have the infrastructure to support COVID-19 vaccinations, the CDC said. About 35% of health care workers in dialysis centers reportedly have been vaccinated to date.
• Shen Wu Tan can be reached at stan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.