Application of the "immunization islands" model to improve quality, efficiency and safety of a COVID-19 mass vaccination site.
Ann Ig
; 33(5): 499-512, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1317343
ABSTRACT
Abstract After SARS-CoV-2 vaccines development came at an unprecedented speed, ensuring safe and efficient mass immunization, vaccine delivery be-came the major public health mandate. Although mass-vaccination sites have been identified as essential to curb COVID-19, their organization and functioning is challenging. In this paper we present the planning, implementation and evalua-tion of a massive vaccination center in Lombardy - the largest Region in Italy and the most heavily hit by the pandemic. The massive hub of Novegro (Milan), managed by the Gruppo Ospedaliero San Donato, opened in April 2021. The Novegro mass-immunization model was developed building a la-yout based on the available scientific evidence, on comparative analysis with other existing models and on the experience of COVID-19 immunization delivery of Gruppo Ospedaliero San Donato. We propose a "vaccine islands" mass-immunization model, where 4 physicians and 2 nurses operate in each island, with up to 10 islands functioning at the same time, with the capacity of providing up to 6,000 vaccinations per day. During the first week of activity a total of 37,900 doses were administered (2,700/day), most of them with Pfizer vaccine (85.8%) and first doses (70.9%). The productivity was 10.5 vaccines/hour/vaccine station. Quality, efficiency and safety were boosted by ad-hoc personnel training, quality technical infrastructure and the presence of a shock room. Constant process monitoring allowed to identify and promptly tackle process pitfalls, including vaccine refusals (0.36%, below expectations) and post-vaccinations adverse reactions (0.4%). Our innovative "vaccine islands" mass-immunization model might be scaled-up or adapted to other settings. The Authors consider that sharing best practices in immunization delivery is fundamen-tal to achieve population health during health emergencies.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Mass Vaccination
/
Community Health Centers
/
Pandemics
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
/
Models, Theoretical
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Ann Ig
Journal subject:
Microbiology
/
Public Health
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ai.2021.2456
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