Strategies for Disseminating and Implementing COVID-19 Vaccines in Rural Areas

Abstract

Abstract The United States has well-documented rural–urban health disparities, and it is imperative that these are not exacerbated by an inefficient rollout of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines to rural areas. In addition to the preexisting barriers to delivering and receiving health care in rural areas, such as high patient:provider ratios and long geographic distances between patients and providers, rural residents are significantly more likely to say they have no intention of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, compared with urban residents. To overcome these barriers and ensure that rural residents receive the vaccine, officials and communities should look to previous research on how to communicate vaccine information and implement successful vaccination programs in rural areas for guidance and concrete strategies to use in their local efforts. Graphical Abstract