Mass COVID-19 vaccination center: Optimizing the vaccination pathway during a 12 month timeframe.

BACKGROUND

In France, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign started in January 2021. This study reports the one-year experience of a multidisciplinary team from university hospital in operating a vaccination center created in a metropolitan sports arena.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Some of the data derive from an online appointment scheduling software. Daily traceability sheets were utilized as a formalized method to gather data on non-conformities, adverse events, and to estimate the duration of the vaccination pathway. The professional satisfaction assessment was carried out via an anonymous online questionnaire. The collected data were examined with descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

We propose strengths of our organization to obtain efficient and safe vaccination pathway. In one year, 572,491 immunization shots were administered. The operational team size increased from 31 (500 vaccinations per day) to 71 (3000 vaccinations per day). In March 2021, the average duration to vaccination (excluding post-vaccination monitoring) was 12 [5-37] minutes for patients without medical consultation vs 16 [5-45] minutes for patients with medical consultation. 0.11 % non-conformities on vaccines got notified not allowing them to be used for vaccination. One error regarding the volume administered got reported. Among the professionals working in the vaccination center, 97 % were satisfied with the organization and 88 % with the quality of the information received from team leader or team project. Main difficulties encountered were managing the leftover doses at night and communicating with patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the ability to vaccinate a population efficiently and safely on a large scale during a pandemic is based on the engagement of skilled multidisciplinary teams and securing the vaccination pathway.