Mass vaccination in the United States comes with a host of problems, including an outright lack of understanding among citizens about where and how to get their life-saving vaccination
News Front reported back in December that the US began vaccination without preparation. Millions of doses of the coronavirus vaccine remained unused as many health facilities had to find staff to work in vaccination clinics.
“You had at least six months to prepare. You could have thought of a better way to do it”, – commented Barbara Schlevin, a resident of Pompano Beach, Florida.
The Washington Post reports that the 71-year-old had made 184 calls to hospitals and health authorities trying to find out where she could get vaccinated. At that point, it had been days since Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the vaccine would be available to seniors.
After months of waiting, vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are being distributed by the millions across the country, but Americans simply do not know how to get vaccinated. Some states have launched special information websites, quickly going out of business. Others are announcing vaccinations via Facebook altogether.
At the same time, it remains unclear who has priority for vaccination. Regulations vary from state to state. As a consequence, hospitals are often caught off guard when governors suddenly announce that the vaccine will be available to senior citizens and others.
Such an incident occurred in Florida, where the governor ordered the vaccination of the elderly in the first place, squeezing even medical professionals. The result
Amid the confusion, it got to the point where dozens of elderly people were camped outside a hospital in Florida, waiting to be vaccinated on a first-come, first-served basis. The state refused to develop a vaccination plan and the hospitals had to create one on their own. When it was decided to vaccinate on a first-come, first-served basis, dozens of elders set up camp to sleep overnight.