Building equity into vaccine distribution
February 4, 2021MIT
As the U.S. speeds up distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, the question of equity keeps surfacing. Who gets priority? If the pandemic is hitting certain communities harder, can they be adequately supplied with vaccine doses? What’s the best way to balance the needs of different groups within society?
MIT economist Parag Pathak’s work emphasizes those questions and helps tackle them. Over the last year, Pathak and a group of colleagues have developed an approach to the distribution of vaccines and other medical goods that is being used in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Tennessee.
Credits: Image: Christine Daniloff, MIT
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Two of the studies described in this article have been published on a preprint server but have not yet been peer-reviewed by experts in the field.
As the U.S. speeds up distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, the question of equity keeps surfacing. Who gets priority? If the pandemic is hitting certain communities harder, can they be adequately supplied with vaccine doses? What’s the best way to balance the needs of different groups within society?
MIT economist Parag Pathak’s work emphasizes those questions and helps tackle them. Over the last year, Pathak and a group of colleagues have developed an approach to the distribution of vaccines and other medical goods that is being used in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Tennessee.
Updated on February 2, 2021 at 10:16 am
NBC Universal, Inc.
Pfizer, like other COVID-19 vaccine makers, has been struggling to meet the global demand for shots. Now the company is sharing some good news – Pfizer plans to deliver 200 million doses of its vaccine to the U.S. by May, two months earlier than its initial projection.
The company also said it can potentially deliver two billion doses globally by the end of 2021.
South Africa Strain in Maryland
Two Montgomery County residents were found to have a strain of COVID-19 found in South Africa, Gov. Larry Hogan said Tuesday. The patients had recently traveled abroad. Their close contacts are in isolation and contact tracing is underway, the governor said.
This article is part of the guide The EdSurge Podcast.
President Biden has made reopening K-12 schools as one of his top priorities for the first 100 days of his administration, or by the end of April. With COVID-19 vaccinations rolling out across the country, thereâs hope that that will happen.
But there is also a sense of added urgency. New strains of the coronavirus are emerging, and vaccine distributions and administrations have run into hiccups.
âWe are in a race right now between vaccine distribution and these variants becoming more common,â says Asaf Bitton, a physician, public health researcher, and executive director of Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation.
Updated on February 1, 2021 at 9:09 am
NBC Universal, Inc.
A blanket of snow covered the D.C. area Sunday, affecting COVID-19 vaccine distribution and testing sites on Monday.
Testing sites in D.C., Montgomery County and Prince William County are closed due to the wintry weather. Vaccine appointments scheduled for Monday have been canceled in Fairfax County and Prince George’s County.
Those who had their appointments canceled will be able to reschedule for later in the week.
Vaccinations in DC by Race and Ethnicity
Race and ethnicity data is now available on D.C.’s coronavirus portal, but the data doesn t show a complete picture, D.C. Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt said at a press conference Monday.