Striving for health equity during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Vaccine distribution in DuPage County, IL

Abstract

AbstractThis article is an example of ‘Lessons from the Field’. The likelihood of future novel diseases, like coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), is extremely high due to global travel, increased antibiotic resistance, and vaccine hesitancy of common viruses based on attitudes towards the COVID‐19 vaccine. Therefore, local and state health departments should incorporate lessons learned from the COVID‐19 pandemic into their operational planning. At the beginning of the COVID‐19 pandemic, most health departments in Illinois served as direct points‐of‐distribution for dispensing vaccine. The DuPage County Health Department (DCHD), however, chose to distribute vaccine through a hub‐and‐spoke model in which an established network of providers throughout the county administered vaccine based on availability and need. By decentralizing vaccine distribution, DCHD put vaccine in the areas of greatest need while also reducing the burden of transportation for vulnerable populations. Moreover, the hub‐and‐spoke model may have contributed to health equity due to the variety of providers in the network who were trusted among hesitant individuals within the community. By summer 2021, DuPage County ranked in the top 2% of US counties with eligible residents vaccinated against COVID‐19.