A man took his adult children over the weekend to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, knowing that it is important that they be vaccinated against the disease.
But he does not feel concerned about his own risk of catching the virus, despite the fact that older people and men are more likely to die from COVID-19, Barbara Ferrer, director of public health in LA County, said this week . He did not plan to be vaccinated.
“I was worried about him, and his kids, too,” said Ferrer, who met the family at a vaccination center in Los Angeles. “What is astonishing to realize is that the group of people who have the higher mortality rate are now also the group of people who have the lower vaccination rates.”
During the pandemic, men worldwide are much more likely to die from COVID-19 – due to a mixture of biological and behavioral factors – but also less likely to be vaccinated against the disease.
The LA County data paints a troubling picture: Here, 153 out of every 100,000 women die from COVID-19, while 289 out of every 100,000 men.
But while 44% of women in LA County have received at least one dose of vaccine, only 30% of men have it.
And in the 38 states that have published a gender breakdown of vaccination rates, more women have been vaccinated than men, according to Kaiser Health News.
The difference is in part because vaccinations were initially offered to health workers and the elderly, groups disproportionately made up of women. But it probably also reflects long-standing patterns of men who have more risky behaviors and pay less attention to their health than women, experts say.
“Unfortunately, it’s not very surprising to see that vaccination differs between the sexes,” said Richard Carpiano, medical sociologist at UC Riverside.
Ferrer said the Department of Health will focus on targeting vaccine messages to men and improving access to the vaccine. The distribution of vaccines is particularly low among black and Latino men in LA County, with only 19% and 17%, respectively, according to data from the country so far one shot of the vaccine.
“Of course, you want people at greatest risk to be vaccinated quickly and vaccinated quickly,” Ferrer said.
In general, men tend to be less careful than women and more likely to take risks, as evidenced by the high cost of insuring young men to drive cars, Carpiano said. Many men are also socialized for not asking for help, which has contributed to low prices for mental health treatment among men and perhaps also lower vaccination rates against coronavirus, he said.
“You see movies reflect that too – the man is the action hero,” Carpiano said. “There is always a kind of understanding, a certain toughness, that avoids things that penetrate into it. We see this also manifests in health-seeking behaviors. ”
Throughout the pandemic, several surveys have found that women take more precautions to ward off coronavirus infections, somewhat ironically, as men are more likely to die from the virus if they contract it. A Gallup poll last year found that women are more likely to wear masks, distance themselves socially and avoid large crowds.
The survey showed that political tendencies are part of the difference, as men rather than Republicans and Republicans are less likely to follow coronavirus precautions. But even within each political party, women were more concerned about the virus and followed more safety recommendations.
Perhaps the same tendency to caution extends to the COVID-19 vaccine. A Viral tweet from a reporter in North Carolina showed that many vaccinated give the same reason for getting their shots: their wives made it.
Even before the pandemic, women tended to visit the doctor more and were more likely to monitor a family’s health decisions. Women usually start seeing the doctor regularly, often with a first trip to the OB-GYN as teenagers, and use more preventative services, such as cancer screening.
“There are gender differences in the use of health care, so this outcome if you have a greater proportion of women who are vaccinated is consistent with that,” said Alina Salganicoff, director of women’s health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Salganicoff has published data over the past year that show that women are more worried than men about themselves and their families contracting the coronavirus, and that they are also experiencing a greater mental health system due to pandemic stress.
This suggests that while the gap in vaccination rates between men and women may narrow as the shots are made available to a larger section of the population, it may not close completely, she said.
“I would not be surprised,” she said.