Washington State Announces Partnership With Companies to Boost Vaccinations

Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee this week announced a series of new efforts to help boost the state's COVID-19 vaccinations, including partnerships with such companies as Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, and Starbucks, confirms CNN (Jan. 19, Rose, Maxouris). Partnership members will focus on different aspects of vaccine distribution. Kaiser Permanente, for instance, will be tasked with helping plan for mass vaccination clinics, while Starbucks will assist with operational efficiency. Microsoft President Brad Smith said his company will provide technology expertise. "We are not a health care company," Starbucks President and CEO Kevin Johnson said during a press conference. "But Starbucks does operate 33,000 stores at scale, serving 100 million customers a week and we have a world class team of human-centered design engineers who are working under the direction of the state and health care providers . . . to help support the creation of vaccination centers."