DrLove
Diamond Member
Kudos to the creative path they took AND to their Republican Governor and their health professionals. Doesn't mean the same process will work in more populous, less rural states, but credit where credit is due and smart to call on the National Guard!
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West Virginia has won praise for its quick and efficient handling of the vaccine rollout.
Eleven percent of state residents have gotten their first shot, and 4.1 percent have completed vaccination, according to The Washington Post’s vaccine tracker. As of one week ago, all residents and staff members of the state’s 214 long-term care facilities have been offered the full regime.
Meanwhile, many of states with much better-funded health-care systems have lagged behind. In Massachusetts, 7.2 percent of the residents have received a first shot; 7.7 percent in California.
“People think we’re the poorest or most backward or whatever it may be,” West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) told The Post. “But West Virginia has become the diamond in the rough.”
The key for West Virginia, Hoyer said, has been a centralized state-run system.
Once vaccines come to the state health department, they’re shipped to five hospitals, each located in a different geographic region of the state. These hospitals then serve as a hub for distributing the vaccines to community health centers, clinics, pharmacies, doctor officers and other hospitals. The state tracks the movement of all vaccines with a central registration system.
Every Monday, the state task force holds a Zoom call with officials from the state’s 55 counties to discuss supply for the week and any changes that need to be made in distribution.
The state has also drawn on the National Guard to help with logistics and organization. And rather than letting counties make their own rules about who gets the vaccine first, as other states have done, Justice has issued specific and firm guidance on prioritization.
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