Calling all vaccinators: Closing the next gap in Covid supply and demand

Beating back Covid right now comes down to balancing supply and demand.

With hopes pinned to vaccines, demand has far outstripped the supply of doses.

But, as an increasing number of vaccine vials are shipped in coming weeks, the concern about shortages may well shift to human capital: the vaccinators themselves.

“We need to mobilize more medical units to get more shots in people’s arms,” Jeff Zients, coordinator of President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 task force, said at a briefing earlier this month.

Already, there have been scattered reports that vaccinators are in short supply in some areas.

“Absolutely, we do need more,” said Tom Kraus, vice president of government relations for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, whose members work in hospitals, clinics and large physician practices.

After all, vaccinating America is a huge undertaking.

“We are planning to vaccinate a lot more people over a shorter period of time than we’ve ever done before,” said L.J Tan, chief strategy officer of the Immunization Action Coalition, which distributes educational materials for health care professionals and the public across a range of vaccination topics.

Each year the U.S. vaccinates 140 million to 150 million residents against influenza, “but what we’re talking about now is much more intensive,” he said…

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From News-Medical - February 24, 2021