Operations

Starbucks working to boost COVID-19 vaccine access

Provided

January 19, 2021

Starbucks has joined the Washington State Vaccine Command and Coordination Center, a statewide public-private partnership to boost vaccine distribution efforts established by Washington State Governor Jay Inslee and the Washington Department of Health, according to a company press release.

Inslee is bringing together public and private resources in an effort accelerate safe and equitable vaccination process across the state. Starbucks will contribute expertise in operational efficiency, scalable modeling and human-centered design to Washington State's vaccine distribution efforts.

"This is an opportunity to serve others and have impact on a significant humanitarian effort," Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said in the release. "Governor Inslee has convened some of the best public and private resources and capabilities to engage in a concerted effort to optimize and accelerate the vaccination process across our home state. We are proud to contribute in every way we can to help operationalize and scale equitable access to the vaccine."

Specifically, Starbucks is:

• Using expertise to assist with site selection across 39 counties and 29 tribal nations in Washington.
• Leveraging scalable solutions for safe, equitable access.
• Tapping employees at the Tryer Center innovation lab, a 20,000-square-foot facility at its headquarters in Seattle, to help optimize vaccination sites with design principles and solutions focused on efficiency to throughput — all centered in the patient experience.

The coalition hopes that this model can be shared with other states to assist in expediting vaccine distribution as well, according to an email from Starbucks.