Awaiting a Covid-19 vaccine, Washington state plans ahead for its distribution

More details are emerging about Washington state's plan to distribute any potential Covid-19 vaccine as soon as one hits the market. The state's plan was due to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. It will be released to the public this week.

The plan is the first draft of answers to some huge questions surrounding ethics and logistics for local public health officials. Here to walk us through what we know so far is KUOW Reporter Anna Boiko-Weyrauch.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

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n the state's plan, there is a step to create another plan. That second plan will prioritize who gets the vaccine first.

If and when a vaccine comes out, there's going to be a very limited amount at first. The state has an idea that the first doses should go to health care providers, older adults, and people with chronic health conditions. Those people are going to be first in line.

After that, the state is still settling on the details. In fact, they have an online survey. You could go fill it out. They're trying to get public input about how to prioritize the vaccine.

They're also talking with different organizations. They're getting lots of input. In the meantime, some big national groups are also looking into this. So, health officials are watching how others are thinking through how to answer this question.

Just to lay out what's at stake here ethically, this is probably one of the largest ethics problems they've ever dealt with, because they're deciding who should get what is a scarce and potentially life-saving medical technology in the middle of a global pandemic. And, there are also still a lot of unknowns.

Here's State Health Secretary John Wiesman:

“Some of this really depends in part, too, on which vaccines get the go ahead and what we know about their effectiveness, and for which populations they are most effective. So, we’re doing everything we can up until that point to get prepared for that.”

Vaccine logistics

This is where the logistical decisions come in. Who is going to be injecting that vaccine? Where are they going to be administering it, for example? Right now, the state is signing up health care providers to deliver the vaccine.

Also, the state is figuring out customer service. Who's going to be taking the orders for the vaccine, staffing, who is going to be answering questions about ordering a vaccine? They're also figuring out how they're going to keep track of the vaccine, and how it's getting administered.

Finally, their communication plan. How will they get input from community groups? How will they educate the community, and educate health care providers about the vaccine?

We'll bring you more details this week when the state's vaccine distribution plan is made public. There is no Covid-19 vaccine available yet, and there's no clear date for when one will be available. Should any vaccine become available, it will be up to states to get it to people within their borders.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.