The vaccination roll out through the lens of service design
As I immerse myself in my new role in healthcare, I’ve started to collect some thoughts about the vaccine roll out plan and the impact on nation-wide communities in order for people to get vaccinated.
In this point in time, we’ve reached a year anniversary in this pandemic and I thought it would be an interesting exercise to write down some thoughts on what I’ve been experiencing and seeing in regards to the vaccination strategy here in the US. This is not only a supply chain and political challenge, it is also a “wicked design problem”. I bring this up because as a service designer, I’m always looking for ways to solve human-centric problems and this vaccination roll out plan, without a doubt, is a wicked one.
Here are a few reasons why:
From a strategic standpoint: A national strategic plan does not translate in the same way in local counties (each county has specific needs/constraints: lack of nurses, infrastructure, vaccine supply, digital support).
From a process standpoint: I did not find evidence on a thought out logistical plan about leftovers. What I did find was that, some places are literally grabbing people passing by to ask if they want the vaccine because otherwise they will go to waste.
From an environment standpoint: Local communities had to repurpose parking lots, museums, and big spaces, to “temporary host” vaccine sites due to lack of infrastructure in the urban areas.
From a technology/platform standpoint: Disjointed sign-up appointment experience — some places are not offering a date for your second shot or rescheduling options or you can only book the 1st dose if there is a 2nd dose available.
From an experience standpoint: You go through this rollercoaster of emotions as you try to sign-up in the “right” vaccination site and you might need to go through multiple rounds of website to find a date/time that works for you/your family.
With every wicked problem, there are unintended consequences, and in this case, is no different. Here are a few “non-planned” responses I’ve seen so far:
- Bypassing is real: people are driving across states (sometimes in caravans) to get the vaccine.
- Rise of community building effort: neighbors helping others to get the vaccine especially elderly population that rely on others to get to placed, schedule appointments online.
- Supply/demand of vaccines and people to administrate the shots: There has been a call out for volunteers who meet minimal standards of nursing practice to help give vaccination shots.
As described above, each element related to the vaccination roll out plan is interconnected and interdependent. On top of that, there is a major digital disjointed experience where public service websites, groceries, pharmacies are having to adapt their digital flow to schedule, cancel, reschedule and/or, accommodate vaccination appointments.
It is unclear to me how healthcare providers are collaborating or not with local pharmacies and hospitals to update individuals vaccination records. I wonder how this is going to look like in a few months out where places may request an “official” proof of your vaccination status where your vaccination card may or may not be enough.
To conclude, there are so many loose ends about this plan which makes this a perfect example to share, reflect and learn from. Hopefully these considerations could help you see this roll out in a systematic service design way.
Stay safe, stay healthy, stay informed, get vaccinated!
(I’ve already got mine! Yey!)
More info here: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-trends
Note: this article is based on my personal perspective and they don’t represent my current organization point of view.
