January 11, 2021
Needless COVID Deaths Need to Stop Now. Here’s How.
I have the privilege of serving as the President and CEO for Capital Caring Health, a non-profit hospice and palliative care provider in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. I also serve as CEO of the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation ( NPHI ), which is comprised of 72 not-for-profit community-based hospice and palliative care providers. Members of NPHI care for daily over 100,000 patients—many who are terminally ill and COVID 19 positive. We see first-hand the tragedy and suffering of far too many American families.
As of this writing according to the CDC approximately 22 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed yet only about 6 million have been administered. As thousands continue to succumb to the virus daily, the pace of allocating the vaccine and administering it is a failure of leadership which constitutes a national crisis.
What Must Happen Now Without Delay.
Federal, state, and local officials must immediately coordinate setting up centralized vaccination sites across the nation operating twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week until everyone is inoculated. This is a crisis that leaves no room for pause.
Also, because every state and locality have access to different resources and infrastructure the federal government should offer a menu of options for where these vaccination sites can operate and how they can be staffed.
Having on hand multiple highly effective vaccines is an astounding scientific and medical accomplishment and an amazing example of government and the private sector working together at record speed for the common good. We must now also work at record speed to put doses into millions of arms of our fellow citizens.
Any further delay will lead to more needless deaths and is totally and utterly unacceptable.
Sincerely,
Tom Koutsoumpas
CEO
National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation
900 16th Street NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20006