States may include nonmedical volunteers at Covid vaccination sites in groups of workers eligible for vaccination, even if they’re young and healthy. Hastings Center research scholar Nancy Berlinger told AP that prioritizing these workers for vaccination is ethically appropriate because of the risks associated with this essential work, which often involves long indoor shifts. “There would be easier ways to game the system” than volunteering at a vaccination site, she said. “The volunteers we’re talking about at registration centers are people who are part of the public health effort. They are performing a crucial role.” Read the AP article.
 
In an interview with Politico,  Berlinger discussed the challenges of vaccinating people in rural areas, even when a region has an adequate supply of Covid vaccines. Rural residents “have less reliable access to health care” due to closures of rural hospitals and “they tend to be undervaccinated” as a population for reasons not limited to health care access. Read the Politico article.

Berlinger praised federal efforts to improve equitable vaccination access for minority populations by partnering with federally qualified health centers. “They’re very focused on patients having a medical home, that this is a trustworthy place where you’re going to see the same doctors and the nurses and social workers and you can come to them with issues in your life,” she told Roll Call. “They’re very used to doing community outreach in many languages.” Read the Roll Call article.