OPINION: We need a better way of distributing the covid-19 vaccine. Here’s how to do it.

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Wed, 2021-01-13 11:54 — mike kraft

Opinion | We need a better way of distributing the covid-19 vaccine. Here’s how to do it. The United States needs a distribution strategy that our fragmented, multilayered health-care system can effectively implement. Drew Altman Washington Post

Drew Altman is president and chief executive of the Kaiser Family Foundation and founding publisher of Kaiser Health News. He was commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Human Services from 1986 to 1989.

The covid-19 vaccine distribution effort is in trouble, and the Trump administration’s plan to release more of the existing vaccine supply intensifies the urgent need for improvement.

Only about a third of the more than 25 million doses distributed nationwide have been given to people, federal data show. Hundreds of different distribution programs are being organized across states and counties for front-line health workers, residents of long-term care facilities, the elderly and others that states are prioritizing in different sequences.

The resulting complexity means that few Americans can answer the basic question: When and where can I get vaccinated?

The country needs a distribution strategy that our fragmented, multilayered health-care system can effectively implement. This will require more federal direction, a simpler priority structure and a different role for the states.

First, the initial round of distribution should be finished as planned. It makes no sense to disrupt current efforts to get the vaccine to front-line health workers (mostly being handled by hospitals) and residents of long-term care facilities (mostly being handled by pharmacy chains doing outreach). After this is completed, a much simpler plan should be implemented.

Start with one easily understood criterion mandated by the federal government: age. The administration’s reported plan to replace the patchwork of state priorities is a step in the right direction. Begin with Americans 65 and older, then those 45 to 65 years old and so forth. Everyone will know when they qualify. They’ll also have ID to prove it. This system can’t be gamed. ....

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