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How the U.S. vaccination drive came to rely on an army of consultants
Previously at DU:
Sat Feb 6, 2021: A No-Bid Contract to Track Covid Vaccinations Draws Frustration, and a Cease-and-Desist
WP EXCLUSIVE
How the U.S. vaccination drive came to rely on an army of consultants
Private contractors cost taxpayers millions while demonstrating few clear results and papering over weaknesses in the country’s public health system
By Isaac Stanley-Becker
Today at 3:21 p.m. EDT
When Gavin Newsom outsourced key components of California’s vaccine rollout to the private sector during the pandemic’s darkest days last winter, the Democratic governor promised the changes would benefit the most vulnerable.
His “number one” reason for handing the reins to Blue Shield of California, an Oakland-based health insurance company, was “equity” — delivering vaccine doses to those at greatest risk, many in communities of color, he said in February.
But the $15 million contract with Blue Shield, plus another $13 million for McKinsey, did not deliver on that promise, according to state and county officials, as well as public health experts.
“Equity is a useful catchphrase, but the work was either nonexistent or completely nontransparent,” said Kim Rhoads, a health advocate and physician researcher at the University of California San Francisco. About 45 percent of eligible Black residents and Latino residents are fully vaccinated in California, according to state data, compared to nearly 60 percent of the eligible White population. “The numbers speak for themselves,” Rhoads said.
California wasn’t alone in using private contractors to manage the vaccination campaign. At least 25 states, along with federal agencies and many cities and counties, hired consulting firms, according to a Washington Post tally. The American vaccination drive came to rely on global behemoths such as McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), with downsized state and local health departments and even federal health agencies relying on the private sector to make vaccines available to their citizens, according to hundreds of pages of contract documents, emails and text messages obtained through public records requests.
{snip}
By Isaac Stanley-Becker
Isaac Stanley-Becker is a national political reporter. Twitter https://twitter.com/isaacstanbecker
How the U.S. vaccination drive came to rely on an army of consultants
Private contractors cost taxpayers millions while demonstrating few clear results and papering over weaknesses in the country’s public health system
By Isaac Stanley-Becker
Today at 3:21 p.m. EDT
When Gavin Newsom outsourced key components of California’s vaccine rollout to the private sector during the pandemic’s darkest days last winter, the Democratic governor promised the changes would benefit the most vulnerable.
His “number one” reason for handing the reins to Blue Shield of California, an Oakland-based health insurance company, was “equity” — delivering vaccine doses to those at greatest risk, many in communities of color, he said in February.
But the $15 million contract with Blue Shield, plus another $13 million for McKinsey, did not deliver on that promise, according to state and county officials, as well as public health experts.
“Equity is a useful catchphrase, but the work was either nonexistent or completely nontransparent,” said Kim Rhoads, a health advocate and physician researcher at the University of California San Francisco. About 45 percent of eligible Black residents and Latino residents are fully vaccinated in California, according to state data, compared to nearly 60 percent of the eligible White population. “The numbers speak for themselves,” Rhoads said.
California wasn’t alone in using private contractors to manage the vaccination campaign. At least 25 states, along with federal agencies and many cities and counties, hired consulting firms, according to a Washington Post tally. The American vaccination drive came to rely on global behemoths such as McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), with downsized state and local health departments and even federal health agencies relying on the private sector to make vaccines available to their citizens, according to hundreds of pages of contract documents, emails and text messages obtained through public records requests.
{snip}
By Isaac Stanley-Becker
Isaac Stanley-Becker is a national political reporter. Twitter https://twitter.com/isaacstanbecker