ANALYSIS: U.S. Vaccine Rollout Hindered by Faulty Coordination, Messaging

U.S. Vaccine Rollout Hindered by Faulty Coordination, Messaging Angelica LaVito Bloomberg.com

As the U.S. grapples with record hospitalizations and deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic, a crucial vaccination rollout campaign is being impeded by inconsistent messaging and myriad state strategies as a new variant of the virus drives up infection rates, according to public health experts.

The missteps have put the number of vaccinations well behind targets set by the Trump administration’s U.S. Operation Warp Speed effort. About 5.46 million doses have been administered in the U.S. since mid-December, or 32% of those that have been distributed across the country and well below the Trump administration’s goal of 20 million by the end of 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. Vaccination rates have ranged significantly across states, with South Dakota using 69% of the doses sent to it and Georgia just 22%, according to Bloomberg’s data.

The next couple of weeks are going to be really critical to see how we can get this distribution system up and going more smoothly,” National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins said Wednesday in an interview with the Washington Post. “It certainly has had a rocky beginning. But I’m not entirely surprised by that, when you consider that it’s only been three weeks” since the shots were cleared for emergency use.

Months of work anticipating the vaccine rollout have been squandered because of a lack of coordination and gaps in planning. Bloomberg’s reporting shows missed opportunities at every level of government, from a laissez-faire approach in Washington to local hospitals where harried health-care workers were left trying to make last-minute decisions without guidance.

Among the issues that have contributed to the rollout’s jumbled start, according to interviews with state, federal and hospital officials:

• Reductions in the number of shots states were told they would receive, along with limited notice as to how many doses would arrive, and when
• Complicated logistics of storing and administering the vaccines
• Lack of uniform messaging and education to encourage vaccination
• A disjointed approach across states and counties
• Little transparency with providers and the public on what to expect ...