Tactics other states use to boost vaccination rates

Denmark public health workers have been able to distribute nearly their entire supply of the COVID-19 vaccine thanks in part to early preparation tactics and "a capable health system." Although the country had to procure special freezers and pay more by choosing to move forward with the first vaccine on the market, the success to administer the vaccinations to the public "far outstrips other EU countries."

Alaska has achieved one of the highest vaccination rates in the country due to prioritizing access to the vaccine for rural and Indigenous residents. Using a myriad of transportation efforts – including a fleet of chartered planes, a water taxi drove, and sleds pulled behind snow machines – clinicians have been able to deliver thousands of doses to these remote communities.

West Virginia managed to deliver approximately 90% of the COVID-19 vaccine doses allocated to the state within a week by "charting its own path to vaccine distribution." Rather than rely on chain stores as part of the vaccination plan every other state has done, the West Virginia government partnered with local pharmacies who were already serving rural populations and long-term care facilities to piggyback off of those already-established relationships.

When a smallpox outbreak was deemed to be a likelihood in New York City in 1947, the city’s health commissioner rapidly launched a vaccination campaign that leveraged internal collaboration, consistent and transparent communication, and contact tracing. The effort culminated in more than six million people receiving vaccination in under a month, and only 12 infections and two deaths total. While this "public health triumph" hold lessons for the current COVID-19 pandemic, experts caution, “It’s almost inconceivable that we’re going to be able to do something similar as rapidly and as effectively.”

When a hospital refrigerator that was housing 850 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine stopped working, local health officials in Mendocino County, California worked together to quickly devise a distribution plan. Through strategic outreach and localized pop-up distribution sites, the health officials were able to successfully distribute all of the vaccines to individuals before they expired.

Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain have each "vaccinated a higher proportion of their populations than the rest of the world" due to strategies that included early approval of the vaccine, centralized and digitized health care data management, and cross-sector information campaigns. Although it's yet to be seen how these efforts will fare when the vaccine is released to the general public, they have proven to be successful for distribution to vulnerable people and communities.

In Israel, Arab communities have welcomed those from neighboring Jewish communities into their cities to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a means of "helping firm up the sluggish response to the vaccination drive among Arabs." Using social media and communication apps to determine where doses are available, Jewish Iranians have been "flocking" to Arab towns which in turn has created a "vaccine-bolstering buzz" among Arabs and encouraged many to also get the vaccination after initial hesitation and reluctance.

Most states in the U.S. are struggling to effectively and efficiently distribute the COVID-19 vaccine, while "West Virginia became the first state to finish round one of the two-dose vaccine series in nursing homes." The key to the state's success included preemptively preparing a vaccination dissemination plan and partnering with independent and chain pharmacies.

Residents of California are working together to crowdsource where COVID-19 vaccinations are being offered, and who they're being offered to. While the state has failed to implement a transparent dissemination strategy, 70 volunteers joined forces to create a spreadsheet that keeps track of what clinics are offering the shot and what parameters must be met to receive it. Users have reported that they were able to schedule an appointment because of this effort.

Prior to the COVID-19 vaccinations being rolled out to states, West Virginia preemptively opted out of the federal distribution plan that relied on CVS and Walgreens and instead partnered local pharmacies with long-term care facilities to vaccinate residents. The state's control over distribution has been extremely successful when compared to that of all other states; however, West Virginia officials are now reporting that their rate of vaccination is so efficient that it is outpacing their supply.