American's aren't getting vaccinated fast enough to outpace covid-19, and part of the reason is the inefficient, sometimes broken technology involved. We’re the team at MIT Technology Review who has been looking into the complicated data systems and processes behind America's vaccine rollout, trying to understand why they aren't up to their task in many ways. We've learned a lot about how it works (and doesn’t) in the US, and we've spoken to experts about what needs to change. There are a lot of pieces to this puzzle, and so we've written about them over several stories:

1 - We did a deeply researched overview of how America gets its vaccines. (it's a giant maze, pretty much) https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/01/27/1016790/covid-vaccine-distribution-us/

2 - We investigated the $44 million vaccine data system that isn't being used much and has, in the words of one expert, "become a cuss word." https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/01/30/1017086/cdc-44-million-vaccine-data-vams-problems/

3 - So what are Americans doing instead to get signed up for their shots? Some are crowdsourcing ideas and tactics with their neighbors and even strangers. https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/02/01/1016725/people-are-building-their-own-vaccine-appointment-tools/

4 - We also looked at one faulty system used by Stanford to say who'd be eligible for vaccination at its medical facility. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/21/1015303/stanford-vaccine-algorithm/

Some ideas for things to ask us about:

• How vaccines get from point A to point B
• Why it's been so hard for you to sign up
• Where public health data needs to be improved
• How you might eventually prove you've been vaccinated
• How decisions are made about the vaccine rollout process

(We're less likely to be able to speak about the science of the vaccines themselves, or where you or your family should personally go to get a vaccine.)

We’re Cat Ferguson, Karen Hao, Lindsay Muscato, Bobbie Johnson, Tanya Basu, and Eileen Guo.

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Ask us anything!