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Opinion: Getting COVID-19 vaccines to rural Americans is harder than it looks – but there are ways to lift the barriers
Bennett Doughty and Pamela Stewart Fahs
The enormous job of vaccinating the nation is underway, but for rural Americans, getting a COVID-19 vaccine becomes harder the farther they are from urban centers.
The current vaccines’ cold storage requirements and shipping rules mean many rural hospitals can’t serve as vaccination distribution hubs. That can leave rural residents – about 20% of the U.S. population in all – traveling long distances, if they’re able to travel at all.