COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Explained

February 2021

COVID-19 vaccine distribution explained

by Rachel Wood, M.D., MPH, Lewis County Health Officer

In December we talked about how vaccines are developed and how the phased method of getting vaccine into people’s arms was determined. Some vaccines started being distributed locally last month. Let’s talk about how that distribution is happening, and how to find vaccine for yourself and your family.

Distributing vaccine is kind of like the classic story of the fire triad. It takes three things to make fire burn – heat, fuel, and oxygen. Take any one away and the fire goes out. Vaccine distribution needs four things – a provider, vaccine, staffing, and a point of dispensing (POD) site. If you are missing any one of the four, you can’t vaccinate people. Looking at each of the four individually, we have both challenges and successes happening.

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