5. What important lessons can we apply from the history of vaccine campaigns to the current one? Name at least two.
6. What is your reaction to the article? Does it change your view of the current vaccine campaign? What did you find most memorable, surprising or thought-provoking? What questions about vaccines and the current vaccine distribution effort do you still have?
Going Further
Option 1: Make a Recommendation to President Biden
Imagine you are a member of the president’s coronavirus team: What advice would you give to President Biden to improve the current vaccination rollout in the United States?
In December, President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. vowed to get “at least 100 million Covid vaccine shots into the arms of the American people” during his first 100 days in office. On Jan. 25, Mr. Biden revised his target:
President Biden, under pressure to speed up the pace of coronavirus vaccination, said on Monday that he was now aiming for the United States to administer 1.5 million vaccine doses a day — a goal that is 50 percent higher than his initial target but one that the nation already appears on track to meet.
The president made his comments just hours after he banned travel by noncitizens into the United States from South Africa because of concern about a coronavirus variant spreading in that country, and moved to extend similar bans imposed by his predecessor on travel from Brazil, Europe and Britain. Those bans were set to expire on Tuesday.
Mr. Biden has vowed to get “100 million Covid-19 shots in the arms of the American people” by his 100th day in office. Because two doses are required, and some Americans have already been vaccinated, his promise would cover about 67 million Americans. To realize it, the United States would have to administer one million shots a day.
Read the rest of the Jan. 25 article, and then consider: What are the strengths and weaknesses of President Biden’s plan for improving the coronavirus vaccination campaign? Is it too ambitious or not ambitious enough? Do you believe that it adequately addresses the problems in the rollout so far? What is missing from his plan? What lessons from two centuries of vaccination drives can you offer to the new administration?
To help you formulate your advice to the new president, read, watch or listen to these resources to better understand the successes and failures of the current vaccination campaign and Mr. Biden’s plans to improve it:
Biden Pledges Federal Vaccine Campaign to Beat a Surging Coronavirus
Here’s Why Distribution of the Vaccine Is Taking Longer Than Expected
New Pandemic Plight: Hospitals Are Running Out of Vaccines
Black and Latino New Yorkers Trail White Residents in Vaccine Rollout
How West Virginia Became a U.S. Leader in Vaccine Rollout
Please, Biden, Try for 2 Million Shots a Day
Four Ways to Fix the Vaccine Rollout
Biden Unveils Plan to Combat Coronavirus | Video
‘We Have to Start Treating This as the National Emergency It Is.’ | Podcast
Vaccination Day at Dodger Stadium: Hours of Traffic and 7,730 Shots | Photo Essay
Option 2: Create a Visual Timeline
Create a visual timeline that explains and compares vaccine drives throughout history. Consider how you can use images, shapes, size and color to represent important information, like scope, time, location and other recurring themes and lessons. Here are more tips from Venngage.
Sketch the timeline on a piece of paper or try building it digitally on a free platform like Padlet or Venngage.
