Where were you when you heard that scientists had formulated a vaccine for the novel coronavirus? I think I was in my house, and I'm fairly confident that answer will be the same for a lot of people, with a handful of wild cards like "I was in the pharmacy" or "I was doing the weekly shop." Anyhow, the vaccine is one step cltowards eradicating the virus and reversing the "new normal" back to the regular ol' normal, and Microsoft is playing its part in rolling out doses to everyday Americans.
Numerous industries have transformed some or all of their everyday goings-on so that they can be completed from home, and Microsoft is one of these companies. President Brad Smith explained that, as the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington has been empty of employees for months yet still has the facilities to be used for other purposes, it was self-evident that it should be used as a mass vaccination site. With approximately 740,000 square metres of offices and over 80 individual buildings, a huge number of people could be processed and vaccinated without even coming close to one another. Collaborating with Washington Governor Jay Inslee, this will take the strain off of hospitals which are struggling to care for all of the patients with coronavirus as well as patients who have been admitted for other conditions.
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"We applaud today's critical steps to accelerate vaccine distribution," said Smith regarding the vaccine distribution and administration plan. "Microsoft is one of many local companies lending a hand with the confidence that together, we can move faster to defeat this virus." From now, the goal is to vaccinate 45,000 Washingtonians each day, and the extra capabilities that Microsoft has afforded the labor unions, corporations, healthcare groups, and government entities in achieving this goal is invaluable. Other corporations helping out are Starbucks, which will deliver "operational efficiency, scalable modeling and human-centered design expertise and support," and Costco, which will ensure "vaccine delivery by pharmacies."
In bringing together "some of the best public and private resources and capabilities," Inslee has guaranteed to Washingtonians that their government is doing as much as possible to safeguard their health and wellbeing. "We are removing as many impediments as possible to Washingtonians getting vaccinated, we are going to deliver every dose that comes into our state," he said in a press conference. "Our state should be proud of the example we have set and, more importantly, the lives we have saved... Everyone can take some measure of pride in how well we have cared for others in these frightening times."
Featured Image Credit: WebMD, Microsoft