WEBVTT - Vaccines via Eventbrite

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Prognosis. I'm Laura Carlson. It's day two d

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<v Speaker 1>since coronavirus was declared a global pandemic. Today's main story

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<v Speaker 1>as states struggle to piece together vaccine strategies without a

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<v Speaker 1>coordinating national plan, some have resorted to web based technology

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<v Speaker 1>for logistical support. The result they're lining up appointments using

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<v Speaker 1>software that's better suited for arranging volleyball meetups than a

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<v Speaker 1>historic public health campaign. But first, here's what happened in

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<v Speaker 1>virus News today. But Durnas COVID nineteen vaccine won the

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<v Speaker 1>backing of the drug regulator in the European Union. That

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<v Speaker 1>clears the way for a second weapon to stem the

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<v Speaker 1>viruses winter resurgence in Europe. EU leaders are facing growing

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<v Speaker 1>pressure to speed up clearance and deployment of vaccines as

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<v Speaker 1>cases surge across the continent. The Nation Block began immunizations

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<v Speaker 1>last week with the Fiser vaccine, but the pace of

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<v Speaker 1>the rollout has been uneven. In England, more than one

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<v Speaker 1>million people now have coronavirus. That's according to UK Prime

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<v Speaker 1>Minister Boris Johnson, who unveiled official statistics from a government

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<v Speaker 1>report on Wednesday. Rocketing case rates from the new virus

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<v Speaker 1>strain mean one person in every fifty in England now

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<v Speaker 1>has the illness. In London the number is one in thirty.

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<v Speaker 1>Johnson vowed to speed up the government's vaccination program in

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<v Speaker 1>order to eventually lift the latest lockdown. Finally, experts advising

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<v Speaker 1>the world Help the Organization on Vaccine Policies recommended against

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<v Speaker 1>spreading the interval between two doses beyond twenty eight days.

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<v Speaker 1>That followed a move by the UK to extend the

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<v Speaker 1>period between shots to as much as twelve weeks in

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<v Speaker 1>an effort to maximize coverage. Alejandro Craviotto, chairman of the

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<v Speaker 1>Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, said in a

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<v Speaker 1>statement that countries facing quote exceptional circumstances of vaccine supply

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<v Speaker 1>constraints end quote can delay the second dose for a

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<v Speaker 1>few weeks, but data on safety and efficacy after only

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<v Speaker 1>one dose is lacking. And now for today's main story.

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<v Speaker 1>It's the most massive vaccine rollout in US history, but

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<v Speaker 1>many local governments are lining up patient appointments using web

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<v Speaker 1>based services better known for handling birthday party r s,

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<v Speaker 1>vps and online yoga sessions. The patchwork of approaches to

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<v Speaker 1>coordinating vaccines means that several Florida counties have deployed event Right,

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<v Speaker 1>Some Oklahoma governments dabbled with sign Up Genius, and in

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<v Speaker 1>some areas, vaccine seekers are kept on hold for hours

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<v Speaker 1>on appointment hotlines, only to be disconnected. I spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>a Lease Young who reported on the technological solutions states

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<v Speaker 1>are turning to when coordinating through vaccine plans. Given the

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<v Speaker 1>shaky rollout of the COVID nineteen vaccines in the US,

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<v Speaker 1>some areas have taken to let's call them unconventional means

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<v Speaker 1>of allocating appointments for receiving the vaccine. I was wondering

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<v Speaker 1>if you could just tell us a bit about some

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<v Speaker 1>of these methods. It's been interesting across the country. Some

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<v Speaker 1>local governments have chosen to run their own portal UH,

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<v Speaker 1>usually in conjunction with their COVID information page. Some states

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<v Speaker 1>have left it up to counties to take care of themselves,

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<v Speaker 1>and counties have then turned to such services as event

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<v Speaker 1>Bright or sign Up Genius, which people more typically use

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<v Speaker 1>for things such as pot luck dinners, car pools, these

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<v Speaker 1>sort of things that you know a community would use,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know what what has led really to to

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<v Speaker 1>you know, say, either health systems, local governments adopting these

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<v Speaker 1>these shall we say, as you said, more social platforms

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<v Speaker 1>for signing up for vaccines. Well, it's odd because state

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<v Speaker 1>governments largely haven't given too much information to people on

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<v Speaker 1>which service to use. For instance, New Jersey has a

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<v Speaker 1>vaccination sign up page of its own uh and then uh,

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<v Speaker 1>and that went live yesterday and then it started to crash,

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<v Speaker 1>um and then UH. Counties have their own sign up

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<v Speaker 1>systems and their own vaccination sites. But we were really

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<v Speaker 1>not sure if you're a person who's seeking a vaccine,

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<v Speaker 1>even if you're in that first group. Well, do I

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<v Speaker 1>use the state service? Do I use event right, do

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<v Speaker 1>I use that the county service? Or do I call

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<v Speaker 1>a hotline. I spoke to one woman who's eighty four

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<v Speaker 1>year old father lives in Chattanooga, in Tennessee, and he

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<v Speaker 1>learned that there was no sign up required, just show up.

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<v Speaker 1>And he did and he waited in line for I

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<v Speaker 1>believe she said six hours. His car was twelve from

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<v Speaker 1>the front when they were told they had run out

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<v Speaker 1>of vaccine. Uh. This is a gentleman who has a

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<v Speaker 1>heart and lung condition and who was relying on supplemental oxygen,

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<v Speaker 1>and he was so fed up he told his daughter,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not going back. I'm not doing this. I'm just

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<v Speaker 1>going to wait until my doctor has the vaccine and

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<v Speaker 1>that's where I'm going. And is this perhaps a result

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<v Speaker 1>that there is just so much demand an interest for

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<v Speaker 1>these vaccines that they are causing these, say more established

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<v Speaker 1>or more state run systems to crash. I must say

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<v Speaker 1>it's puzzling because governments, state and local governments have had many,

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<v Speaker 1>many months heads up that a vaccine was on the way,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was easy for them to say and understandable

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<v Speaker 1>for them to say early on with the testing effort

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<v Speaker 1>that was falling apart, we've never had anything like this.

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<v Speaker 1>Agents are scarce, there's uh, there's only so many laboratories

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<v Speaker 1>that can process this stuff. And I think people understood that.

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<v Speaker 1>They weren't happy with it, but they understood it. In

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<v Speaker 1>this case, six months ago we knew about Operation Warp

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<v Speaker 1>Speed and here comes a vaccine. And just the other

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<v Speaker 1>day in New Jersey, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy was saying,

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<v Speaker 1>while the rollout has been on the slower side because

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<v Speaker 1>we don't have the personnel to do the inoculations, so

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<v Speaker 1>we're asking retirees to medical retirees to come in and

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<v Speaker 1>do these inoculations. Well, did you or did you not

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<v Speaker 1>know that vaccines were on the way? Why are we

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<v Speaker 1>waiting now while we have this stuff in stock and

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<v Speaker 1>ready to go, Why are we waiting now to ask

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<v Speaker 1>folks to come forward and help out? In your opinion,

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<v Speaker 1>do you think that this perhaps is a result of

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<v Speaker 1>the rollout being pushed more to the state level rather

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<v Speaker 1>than a a larger federal oversight of this rollout program.

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<v Speaker 1>In the state's defense, they've never done anything like this before, UM,

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<v Speaker 1>and also they there's been a clear leadership vacuum at

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<v Speaker 1>the federal level. At the same time, some people are asking, well,

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<v Speaker 1>where is the Federal Emergency Management Agency on this? It's

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<v Speaker 1>helped in hurricanes, natural disasters of all kinds, and there's

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<v Speaker 1>been no sign of a FEMA presence for at least

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<v Speaker 1>that I'm aware of, for vaccinations. Earlier this year, they

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<v Speaker 1>were in hard hit states like New York and New

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<v Speaker 1>Jersey setting up mobile hospitals UM that were used by

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<v Speaker 1>by folks who were, you know, coming out of hospital

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<v Speaker 1>care and not quite ready to go home. And it

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<v Speaker 1>seems that FEMA has the expertise for something like this,

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<v Speaker 1>even the military, but state governments are kind of throwing

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<v Speaker 1>up their hands and saying there's no playbook for this.

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<v Speaker 1>And you you mentioned some of the some of the

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<v Speaker 1>platforms that the states are turning to like event right.

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<v Speaker 1>Has there been any mention of potential security concerns in

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<v Speaker 1>using platforms like this that weren't necessarily meant for, say,

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<v Speaker 1>distributions of vaccines. Well, this is another question that we

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<v Speaker 1>reporters have and have asked event right and sign Up

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<v Speaker 1>Genius and similar services, and they haven't gotten back to us. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>My colleague tried multiple times. So we really don't know

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<v Speaker 1>what kinds of information they're collecting, who has access to it,

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<v Speaker 1>whether folks are being asked to say, disclose um medical conditions.

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<v Speaker 1>And the same goes for the state based electronic sites.

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<v Speaker 1>How much information do I have to give exactly? And

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<v Speaker 1>can any state employee take a look at at my

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<v Speaker 1>file and learn what medications I'm using? Uh, there is

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<v Speaker 1>a hippo component here, and we're not certain whether these

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<v Speaker 1>sites comply about these sites as far as you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the companies behind them, what is their perspective or what

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<v Speaker 1>has their reaction been to their sites being used in

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<v Speaker 1>this fairly unconventional way that they may not have foreseen

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<v Speaker 1>a year ago. Some of the sites are actively courting

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<v Speaker 1>the vaccination effort. They're putting out posts that say, if

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<v Speaker 1>you have vaccinations to give, here's how we can be

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<v Speaker 1>of service to you. Are others kind of pushing back

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<v Speaker 1>and and are not perhaps welcoming this, this use of

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<v Speaker 1>their platform. Not that I'm aware of, the state of Oklahoma,

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<v Speaker 1>though early on was a an adopter of one of

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<v Speaker 1>these online UH sites, and and then a few days

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<v Speaker 1>later they announced without explanation that they were not going

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<v Speaker 1>to use one of these sites, that they had their

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<v Speaker 1>own portal set up. And I don't know why that is.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know why they have abandoned that, if it's statewide,

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<v Speaker 1>if it's just county by county. Governments haven't really been

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<v Speaker 1>forthcoming with information on this. I mean, looking ahead, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we're in the very early days of vaccine distribution in

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<v Speaker 1>the US. I mean, can we perhaps hopefully see these

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<v Speaker 1>as essentially early growing pains as governments confront this immense

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<v Speaker 1>logistical challenge UM going forward, do we think that there

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<v Speaker 1>will be an increased reliance on these types of sites,

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<v Speaker 1>or do you think that the overwhelmed um, say state

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<v Speaker 1>runs systems, websites, etcetera, are going to be able to

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<v Speaker 1>kind of meet this surge. And and this really is

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<v Speaker 1>a small hiccup in the road of vaccine distribution. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not sure whether this is a hiccup. Certainly part of

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<v Speaker 1>the problem is that one of the vaccines must be

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<v Speaker 1>kept super cold, so you do have an issue of

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<v Speaker 1>you have to direct people to a site where that

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<v Speaker 1>sort of vaccine can be accommodated. But I wonder if

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<v Speaker 1>maybe these sign ups are really a solution in search

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<v Speaker 1>of a problem. If you tell folks if their last

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<v Speaker 1>names start with A, B and C, to show up

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<v Speaker 1>at this site on such and such a date, and

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<v Speaker 1>everybody line up, it could be as simple as that,

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<v Speaker 1>we've all gotten a flu shot, right, We've all gone

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<v Speaker 1>to our national chain pharmacy or a doctor's office, and

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<v Speaker 1>you're in and out, and if it's too crowded, you

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<v Speaker 1>go back at a different time. I'm not really sure

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<v Speaker 1>how this appointment system is going to work. What happens

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<v Speaker 1>if a whole bunch of people don't show up for

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<v Speaker 1>whatever reason, whether or they just skip the appointment, and

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<v Speaker 1>now we have a lot of this sensitive vaccine that

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<v Speaker 1>must be put into in an arm very soon after thought,

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<v Speaker 1>what do we have a lot of that lying around?

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know what becomes of it. That was a

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<v Speaker 1>lease Young, and that's it for our show today. For

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<v Speaker 1>coverage of the outbreak from one bureaus around the world,

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<v Speaker 1>visit bloomberg dot com slash coronavirus and if you like

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<v Speaker 1>the show, please leave us a review and a rating

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<v Speaker 1>on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It's the best way to

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<v Speaker 1>help more listeners find our global reporting. The Prognosis Daily

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<v Speaker 1>edition is produced by Topher foreheads Magnus Hendrickson and me

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<v Speaker 1>Laura Carlson. Today's main story was reported by Elise Young.

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<v Speaker 1>Original music by Leo Sidrin. Our editors are Rick Shine

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<v Speaker 1>and Francesca Levi. Francesco Levi is Bloomberg's head of podcasts.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, Tol