The way the COVID vaccine is being distributed is ridiculous.

Vaccines continue to be sent to states who distribute them to facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies.  Do they really think this is an efficient way to do this?

When hospitals get the vaccine, they distribute it to frontline workers such as nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, X-ray, and nursing assistants. These people are involved in direct patient care.  What is happening with the rest of the thousands of other people who keep hospitals going but may not work at the bedside but are also at risk?

I have no idea how clinics plan to do this. No one has said. My clinic hasn’t told me, and I am 65 years old with comorbidities.

Are they going to make appointments in the office? Are they going to do this on a bigger scale? No one knows.

Your local pharmacy works reasonably well to give flu shots. However, this is on a much bigger scale. Are they ready for it? Of course not.

We now have three COVID variants in the country (Britain, South Africa, and Brazil).

They are more contagious.  We are in a race against time, and we don’t have the time to fool around with this haphazard way of doing things.

Every region in the country needs to set up centers where thousands of people can be vaccinated. Use the National Guard or other groups.  A nurse, doctor, or pharmacist doesn’t have to give the shot. Take it from someone who gave thousands of shots: It is not rocket science.

Open up school gyms, arenas, national guard armories, or any other place with lots of space.  Put nurses and maybe a doctor to deal with possible allergic reactions. The shots can be given by the National Guard.

We either get it together with the vaccine situation or plan on spending another year in the house.

Susan Shannon is a retired nurse who blogs at madness: tales of a retired emergency room nurse.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com