Romney calls for comprehensive COVID-19 vaccination plan

SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on Friday called for a comprehensive plan to address problems with the current rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

"That comprehensive vaccination plans have not been developed at the federal level and sent to the states as models is as incomprehensible as it is inexcusable," Romney said in a statement issued New Year's Day.

The statement said rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines "is a tribute to the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and to the professionals in the pharmaceutical industry. But unlike the development of the vaccines, the vaccination process itself is falling behind. It was unrealistic to assume that the health care workers already overburdened with COVID care could take on a massive vaccination program."

Claims that CVS and Walgreens will save the day are also unrealistic, the statement said. "They don't have excess personnel available to inoculate millions of Americans. Nor are they equipped to deal with the rare but serious reactions which may occur. Doctor offices are well-suited but the rate of patient throughput in doctor offices is predictably slow," it said.

Romney noted his experience organizing a major logistical event — the 2002 Winter Games — "but nothing on the scale of what is called for today. Nor do I have any relevant medical or public health experience. But I know that when something isn't working, you need to acknowledge reality and develop a plan — particularly when hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake."

Romney proposed calling on people who have conducted widespread vaccination programs elsewhere or in the past. "Learn from their experience," he said.

"Second, enlist every medical professional, retired or active, who is not currently engaged in the delivery of care. This could include veterinarians, combat medics and corpsmen, medical students, EMS professionals, first responders, and many others who could be easily trained to administer vaccines. Congress has already appropriated funding for states so that these professionals can be fully compensated."

Vaccination sites could be established throughout the state, perhaps in every school, he said.

"Make sure that a medical professional is in each school building to be able to respond to a reaction that might occur," Romney said.

Vaccinations could be scheduled according to a person's priority category and birthdate: e.g., people in group A with a January first birthday would be assigned a specific day to receive their vaccination.

Romney offered his plan as one idea, acknowledging "it undoubtedly has flaws, but I offer it not as the answer but as an example of the kind of options that ought to be brainstormed in Washington and in every state."

The statement notes the current program "is woefully behind despite the fact that it encompasses the two easiest populations to vaccinate: front-line workers and long-term care residents. Unless new strategies and plans are undertaken, the deadly delays may be compounded as broader and more complex populations are added. We are already behind; urgent action now can help us catch up," he said.

Utah officials acknowledged the initial rollout of the state's vaccination efforts were slow but recently have picked up steam.

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