New collaborative offers mass vaccination sites an essential network to support 200 million vaccinations in 100 days
BOSTON, Mass, April 20, 2021/ Ariadne Labs has launched the Global Mass Vaccination Site Collaborative to facilitate a rapid information exchange in order to broaden the impact of and safely deliver more COVID-19 vaccinations globally. The collaborative currently has 50 members representing more than 12 mass vaccination sites from across the country.
The speed of the development and evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines has far exceeded expectations, but many leaders face ongoing uncertainty in ensuring the delivery of the vaccines with speed, scale, and equity. Mass vaccination sites—like stadiums, arenas, and convention centers—are proving essential and scalable, able to safely deliver thousands of vaccines in a single day.
Mass vaccination site leaders have encountered various challenges, including information system platforms, insurance reimbursements, logistics, patient flow, and indoor vs outdoor considerations. Lower vaccine confidence and significant inequity in vaccine distribution affect people of color and other communities that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. These challenges continue to plague vaccine delivery.
The Global Mass Vaccination Site Collaborative is led by Eric Goralnick, MD, MS, Mass General Brigham Medical Director for the CIC Health run sites in Massachusetts, Medical Director of Emergency Preparedness at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Associate Faculty at Ariadne Labs. “As the U.S. and other countries increase access to vaccination, it is a critical time for mass vaccination sites to refine their approach, and share successes, challenges and solutions in a rapid, seamless, and open format to benefit all,” said Goralnick.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Ariadne Labs has developed scalable, systems-level solutions to support clinicians, patients, the general public, and public health decision makers. Drawing on the organization’s research, frontline clinical care experience, background in health systems innovations, and emergent public health threats, Ariadne Labs has developed solutions to allocate, distribute, verify, and generate demand for the vaccines.
“Mass vaccination sites have proven to be a vital piece of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution puzzle,” said Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, Chair and Founder of Ariadne Labs, and co-founder of CIC Health, which manages three mass vaccination sites in Massachusetts. “As cases and hospitalizations rise, so does the urgency of getting as many people as possible vaccinated as quickly as possible.”
“We must advocate for faster distribution of vaccines worldwide. Not stopping the spread of COVID-19 everywhere could mean additional mutations, potentially more deadly and difficult to control,” said Michelle A. Williams, Ariadne Labs Advisory Board member and dean of the faculty at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “We have already seen this start to play out, making widespread vaccination all the more important.”
“Minimizing the threat of COVID-19 requires an equitable and robust response from clinical and public health systems,” said Asaf Bitton, MD, MPH, Executive Director of Ariadne Labs. “As experts in public health, frontline clinical care, health systems, and health equity, Ariadne Labs is uniquely positioned to support mass vaccination sites that have proved crucial in protecting the public during this stage of the pandemic.”
Initial Global Mass Vaccination Site Collaborative members include (in alphabetical order):
- Atrium Health, which has held mass vaccination events at Bank of America Stadium and Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as establishing innovative roving vaccination sites for underserved and rural communities, to ensure equitable access.
- Bellin Health, which operates the Lambeau Field Community COVID-19 Vaccination Site in partnership with Brown County Public Health and the Green Bay Packers.
- The Canada International Scientific Exchange Program (CISEPO).
- CIC Health, which operates mass vaccination sites in Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium, the Reggie Lewis Center, and Hynes Convention Center (the latter currently in partnership with FEMA). Mass General Brigham provides medical direction for all CIC Health vaccination sites.
- CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort), which operates sites at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles alongside its partners at the City of Los Angeles, LAFD, and medical partners Carbon Health, Curative, and USC School of Pharmacy. CORE also staffs the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, in partnership with AFCEMA of Fulton County.
- The State of New Hampshire, which operates the New Hampshire Motor Speedway Mass Vaccination Site in partnership with Regional Public Health Networks, and local police, fire and EMS, and hospitals across the state.
- UCHealth, which operated the mass vaccination site at Coors Field in partnership with the Colorado Rockies, Denver Police Department, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, City and County of Denver, and Verizon – and continues to offer vaccines to up to 40,000 people a week at its 11 locations across Colorado.
- UC San Diego Health, which operated the Petco Park site and maintains a site on its campus.
- Metro Public Health Department, which operates mass vaccination clinics in Nashville, TN, in partnership with Meharry Medical College, the Music City Center, FEMA, U.S. Forestry Service, Nissan Stadium, and the Tennessee Titans.
About Ariadne Labs:
Ariadne Labs is a joint center for health systems innovation at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. With a mission to save lives and reduce suffering, our vision is that health systems equitably deliver the best possible care for every patient, everywhere, every time. We use human centered design, health systems implementation science, public health expertise, and frontline clinical care experience to design, test and spread scalable systems-level solutions to some of health care’s biggest problems. From developing checklists and conversation guides to fostering international collaborations and establishing global standards of measurement, our work has been accessed in more than 165 countries, touching hundreds of millions of lives. Visit ariadnelabs.org to learn more and covid19.ariadnelabs.org to learn about Ariadne Labs’ response to COVID-19.
Media Contact:
Brigid Tsai
Email: btsai@ariadnelabs.org