States should look to other states for successful vaccine rollout

Now that the COVID-19 vaccine is here, the distribution process has proven to be full of new complexities — many of which would remind you of Goldilocks. The first approach was so slow that many people wouldn’t receive the vaccine for a decade. And then, in January, it was announced that the vials previously held back are to be deployed as soon as possible. While this is good news to many of our at-risk or essential personnel, the quick and drastic change left health and hospital officials who were already under pressure exposed to more insurmountable pressure.

Our government is fumbling with the right pace and approach to immunization. States and localities are panicked to meet the new recommendations from big government, and those that increased distribution are already running out of their supply. The problem is simple: an approach to vaccine distribution across all 50 states is not one-size-fits-all. States should follow the lead of other states where vaccination rollout is working.

Once rollout began, communities reported issues due to lack of proper coordination and planning, such as long lines of seniors without appointments, system crashes and sudden reprioritization of those eligible to receive the vaccine. And this entire time, vaccines sat in freezers unused.