New York Times article: How West Virginia became a U.S. leader in vaccine rollout
The following article appeared on the front page of The New York Times Jan. 25. The article quotes Albert l. Wright, Jr., president and CEO, WVU Health System, and Clay Marsh, MD, vice president and executive dean for WVU Health Sciences and West Virginia COVID-19 czar.
“Carolyn Zain had heard horror stories about the nation’s coronavirus vaccine rollout: long waits, clunky websites, people being turned away. So when her health department announced it was expanding appointments, she armed herself with two phones — cellphone in one hand, landline in the other — and held her breath.
“Within 20 minutes, she secured a slot for the next day. She arrived for her 2 p.m. appointment and was resting in a chair, a fresh shot in her arm, by 2:21 p.m.
“’It went wonderfully,’ said Ms. Zain, 79, who, after a year spent mostly home alone, wore a sequined face mask that shimmered like confetti for her appointment at a Charleston clinic last week.
“Since the nation began distributing vaccines more than a month ago, it has moved far more slowly than officials hoped and has been stymied by widespread logistical problems. But West Virginia has stood out for its success in getting people vaccinated. About 9 percent of all West Virginians have received a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, a larger segment than in every state but Alaska and double the rate of some. No state has given a larger share of its residents second doses, a crucial step to securing the best chance at immunity.
“While many states are struggling to hand out the shots that the federal government has provided to them, West Virginia has given out 83 percent of its doses, by far among the highest. The patchwork system of distribution in the country is in its early weeks, and experts say operations may change significantly as vaccinations gear up further, but many states so far have struggled to give even half of their allotted vaccines. California and Rhode Island have used just 45 percent of their shots.
“’West Virginia is about at the top of the charts,’ said Dr. Mark McClellan, a former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “We need to get more states to the point that they have the vaccination capacity of West Virginia.”