Qatar COVID-19 vaccination story: what are the success drivers?

Background

The availability of COVID-19 vaccines was associated with major concerns and challenges, including supply, access, delivery, and vaccine hesitancy.1-3 Qatar was among the first few countries that achieved >80% vaccination coverage very early during the pandemic. This study aims to identify the drivers of this success story.

Methods

This a qualitative descriptive study, where group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted with operational managers and decision-makers.

Results

In the beginning, the elderly, people with chronic diseases, and healthcare workers were targeted. The service was then opened to all eligible population. Equal opportunity through different approaches was provided to all population groups including frontline workers, laborers, and people working in remote stations. During the early phase, vaccination was provided in health facilities. With the progression in vaccination, large centres for mass vaccination were opened to cope with the huge service demand with a capacity of over 20,000 clients a day. Task shifting, relocation, and recruitment were strategies used to close the gap in human resources. Effective communication, sharing of facts and safety information from local data, and responding to misinformation were of great value to build bilateral trust with the public. Securing continuous supply of COVID-19 vaccines was among the major challenges. This was managed through early and continuous communication and coordination with suppliers since the time of vaccines clinical trials. Other overcome challenges were dealing with large volume stock and supply of vaccines, managing vaccination sites, and vaccination centres’ crowd management. The key to success was the high-level of political commitment supplemented by proper planning, leadership and coordination in an agile health system.

Conclusion

Implementation of a nation-wide mass vaccination campaign in response to emergencies is challenging. Innovative management of the health system to address vaccination drivers led to the successful COVID-19 vaccination story in Qatar.