NEW YORK, Dec. 24 (Reuters) – US states facing delays in coronavirus vaccination programs are asking medical and nursing students, and even firefighters, to help deliver vaccinations to free workers from the health workers fighting the pandemic in overcrowded hospitals .
At least seven state health departments are seeking volunteers for the campaign, some of whom partner with universities or nursing schools with incentives such as tuition discounts and hands-on training. Others teach first responders to give vaccinations.
The national launch of COVID-19 vaccines is the best hope for ending a pandemic that killed more than 320,000 people in the United States and paralyzed the world’s largest economy.
This month, US regulators approved the first two COVID-19 vaccines, one from Pfizer and pharmaceutical companies, and one from Moderna.
On Wednesday, nearly 10 million doses had been delivered nationwide. However, due to the lack of personnel in hospitals and the special requirements to prepare vaccines, only about 1 million had been administered.
The slow pace of the vaccination campaign threatens the federal government’s goal of vaccinating nearly 20 million people by the end of the year.
While the vaccination is currently targeting primary health workers, the campaign is expected to expand to tens of millions of key industry workers from January or February.
From New York to Tennessee, states expect medical and nursing students to free up medical staff dedicated to treating the record number of new COVID-19 patients.
“Our ability to staff vaccination clinics with volunteers from our reserve staff means that staff at vaccination sites can continue to perform their normal duties, which is critical as our hospitalization rate has increased,” said an Indiana University School of Medicine spokesperson. .
When the first vaccines arrived, health officials in Indiana called the state university. More than 630 medical and nursing students at Indiana University have volunteered and receive 90 minutes of hands-on and online training.
Fourth-year medical student Nicholas Clough began administering vaccines to primary care health workers last Wednesday.
“It felt like it was a real and tangible counterattack against COVID,” said Clough, 26, who lost several family members during the pandemic.
The University of Wisconsin offers a $ 500 tuition fee to medically accredited students who work in understaffed hospitals during the winter break, including administering immunizations.
In California, fire department paramedics are trained to administer the vaccine, initially to their colleagues.
Subject to each state’s licensing laws, medical and nursing students may administer vaccines, often under the supervision of a licensed professional.
On December 13, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo allowed medical, nursing, pharmacy, dental, podiatry, and obstetric students to administer supervised flu and COVID-19 vaccines.
Reporting by Tina Bellon and Melissa Fares in New York; additional reporting by Deena Beasley in Los Angeles; Edited in Spanish by Janisse Huambachano