The measles outbreak in West Texas didn’t happen just by chance.

Public health departments, which have struggled for months to test and trace everyone exposed to the novel coronavirus, are now being told to prepare to distribute COVID-19 vaccines as early as Nov. 1. The investigation further found that federal coronavirus funds have been slow to reach public health departments, forcing some communities to cancel non-coronavirus vaccine clinics and other essential services. Health departments’ local vaccination plans may be reviewed by both the CDC and Operation Warp Speed. Meanwhile, health departments are dealing with what Minnesota’s Ehresmann described as “legacy” vaccine registries, sometimes dating to the late 1980s. When vaccines are ready, health departments will need more staffers to identify people at high risk for COVID-19, who should get the vaccine first, Moore said.