Beyond the issue that an alarming number of healthcare professionals and average US citizens are refusing to be vaccinated, the final mile of vaccine distribution plagues maximizing shots in arms.
First, for optimal protection from the COVID-19 and its variants, we would like to see people lining up for their vaccine doses. Education appears to be key to this compliance. Educating people on the studies conducted, current side effects, and effectiveness goes far in dispelling fears caused by popular social media myths and rumors, of which, even health professionals are subjected. The CDC issued a “confidence checklist” to help encourage healthcare workers to accept the vaccine.
So, now our people are in line, or online seeking appointments. How do we best meet the demand based on the supply of vaccines provided to us? Let's look to our Lean principles of Matching Supply to Demand (vaccine doses to eligible people in line), and Flow.
My colleagues at Salem Health (Oregon) and Catalysis are leaders at Lean in Healthcare. For a great case study that highlights large-scale vaccine distribution, please go here:
https://createvalue.org/articles_and_news/salem-health-public-vaccine-distribution/ . Take a look and listen to see how you can best create or improve your COVID-19 vaccination clinic and process.
