Drive-Through Mass Vaccination Center Operations in a Rural, Medically Underserved Area Using Military Civilian Partnership During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, mass vaccination centers became an essential element of the public health response. This drive-through mass vaccination operation was conducted in a rural, medically underserved area of the United States, employing a civilian-military partnership. Operations were conducted without traditional electronic medical record systems or Internet at the point of vaccination. Nevertheless, the mass vaccination center (MVC) achieved throughput of 500 vaccinations per hour (7200 vaccinations in 2 days), which is comparable with the performance of other models in more ideal conditions. Here, the study describes the minimum necessary resources and operational practicalities in detail required to implement a successful mass vaccination event. This has significant implications for the generalizability of our model to other rural, underserved, and international settings.

Keywords: COVID-19; emergency preparedness; immunization; mass vaccination.