SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The Indian Health Service is shifting its vaccine distribution system to target individual hospitals and clinics with high demand for shots and taper supplies to hubs where the majority of eligible patients have received doses. Indian Health Service safety and monitoring specialist Dr. Matthew Clark said Monday the shift is designed to improve efficiency after a drop-off in vaccine demand in some regions. The agency is part of a two-pronged national effort to immunize Indigenous communities that also relies on state health agencies. Native Americans have been disproportionately sickened and killed by the pandemic, and are now at the forefront of federal vaccination efforts.
