Now that the government has turned responsibility for covid vaccine distribution over to the private sector, we are seeing delays and shortages that didn’t take place during the declared state of emergency. To be effective, vaccines must be made easily available. Government distribution worked pretty well. What is happening now is not.

Distribution has been uneven and unpredictable. Those who would be vaccinated must know the insurance system and deal with poorly designed websites. As of ten or so days ago, only 2%  of the US population has managed to get the latest booster, which is tuned to some of the newer SARS-CoV-2 strains of virus.

I signed up for a mass vaccination event, much like one I had gone to this summer, on a New Mexico state website that had some of the characteristics of the much snazzier one that had been built with federal government funds. With a few clicks last summer, I could find an appointment and sign up. This was the only event on the website – appointments for the commercial pharmacies had to be made on their websites, none of which were efficient or smooth.

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