California Governor Newsom picked Blue Shield of California to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in an emergency authorization process. The role of Blue Shield is to serve as a centralized distributor for the state, rather than the alternative approach of each county being responsible for its own vaccine distribution. However, serious issues have already occurred, including inefficient scheduling, unclear rules regarding vaccine eligibility, and imprecise data regarding available vaccines.
According to University of Southern California health economics professor Glenn Melnick, since Blue Shield “has got an organization with a statewide footprint and knowledge of the geography and the population, it seems they could think through all the scheduling and logistics.” Learn more here.
(Source: California Healthline, LAist, 2/1/21)
