RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — A North Carolina supply chain expert believes vaccine distribution has been slow for many reasons.
NC State supply chain management professor Dr. Robert Handfield says Operation Warp Speed is focused on just the supply of the vaccine, where it is shipped and sent off to but not how it gets distributed.
“They’re overwhelmed because they’re in hospitals, they’re overwhelmed with patients, pharmacies are overwhelmed doing COVID testing and they don’t have the staffing or the personnel and you just can’t get anyone to do it,” said Handfield.
Handfield thinks they should’ve started backward by starting with patients and working back to get the vaccine out.
“We all think of Amazon and you order stuff online and it comes in a day or two. They never thought about that last mile: that last mile is when that person injects someone with the vaccine,” said Handfield.
He says more drive-thrus may help along with the National Guard stepping in.
