1. Training on Operational Microplanning f
COVID-19 Vaccination
Step 5:
Plan service delivery
For more information, see WHO’s Guidance on Operational Microplanning for COVID-19 V
(2023), available at who.int/publications.
2 May 2023
2. Step 5 in the microplanning process
Step 5: Plan service delivery
3. 3. Social listening and community feedback mechanisms are important tools
for identifying service delivery approaches for specific communities.
True □ False □
Pre-assessment
Select the correct response.
1. Pre-registration of individuals for COVID-19 vaccination does not affect
vaccine estimates for vaccination sites.
True □ False □
2. Decentralized vaccination strategies should be adopted for communities
whose members require enhanced access to vaccination.
True □ False □
4. Immunization programmes do not need to coordinate with non-health
sectors to increase coverage for specific priority-use groups.
True □ False □
5. Vaccinators’ style of interacting with the individuals they are vaccinating is
not important for increasing coverage.
True □ False □
Step 5: Plan service delivery
4. 3. Social listening and community feedback mechanisms are important tools
for identifying service delivery approaches for specific communities.
True □ False □
Pre-assessment (Answer key)
Select the correct response.
1. Pre-registration of individuals for COVID-19 vaccination does not affect
vaccine estimates for vaccination sites.
True □ False □
2. Decentralized vaccination strategies should be adopted for communities
whose members require enhanced access to vaccination.
True □ False □
4. Immunization programmes do not need to coordinate with non-health
sectors to increase coverage for specific priority-use groups.
True □ False □
5. Vaccinators’ style of interacting with the individuals they are vaccinating is
not important for increasing coverage.
True □ False □
Step 5: Plan service delivery
5. By the end of this module, participants will be able to:
• Plan a vaccine delivery strategy and vaccination sites for
specific priority-use subgroups.
• Name the components of budget estimates related to
COVID-19 vaccination service delivery.
Step 5
Plan service
delivery
Learning objectives
6. COVID-19 vaccination service delivery strategies
• Routine immunization and other vaccination services are delivered using a combination
of delivery strategies (fixed site, outreach, mobile teams, and campaigns).
• These strategies can also be used for COVID-19 vaccination services.
• Reaching and vaccinating priority-use subgroups especially those with limited access to
healthcare services may require developing tailored approaches.
• Vaccinating such priority-use groups that have never been approached for vaccination
(such as elderly adults) requires:
Step 5: Plan service delivery
• Collaborating across the health system with primary health care, communicable and
non-communicable diseases, etc.
• Working with sectors outside the health system. For example, social welfare, education
and transportation.
7. Plan service delivery strategy for priority-use subgroups
Consider the following when selecting service delivery strategies:
• The number of eligible people to be vaccinated
• The funding available
• The catchment area terrain and the geographic distribution of targeted groups
• The number of trained vaccinators and other staff available
• The number of vaccination sites and their ease of access
• The availability and characteristics of the vaccine products in use
• The number of supervisors available to provide supportive supervision
• The logistics and resources required to implement vaccination sessions
• Priority-use groups’ acceptance of or hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccination
Step 5: Plan service delivery
8. Plan and map vaccination sites
Identify vaccination sites using a bottom-up approach, ensuring that all sites are:
• Accessible to the target populations without too much effort and no safety risks
• Acceptable, as determined by local customs, religious and cultural norms, trust in public
services, and the location and days and hours of operation
• Approachable, as determined by vaccinators’ behaviour (ease of interaction)
Ensure that vaccination sites (and mobile teams) cover the entire catchment area and
priority-use groups, especially those in hard-to-reach and bordering areas.
Create maps indicating the location of all vaccination sites, terrain, and site connectivity.
Step 5: Plan service delivery
Use Planning Template 10 to plan vaccination activities at fixed and outreach sites and
via mobile teams.
9. Planning Template 10: Plan for fixed, outreach, and mobile
vaccination teams
Name
and
address
of
vaccina-
tion site
Type of
vaccina-
tion
session
planned
Priority-
use
group(s)
targeted
Estima-
ted
popula-
tion of
each
group
Nearest cold chain facility
Day of
week and
date of
session
Time of
session
Team members’ names and
contact information
Name of
supervisor
Name of
mobili-
ier or
local
influen-
cer
Name
and
address
Distance
from the
site
Contact
person
Vaccina-
tor
Recor-
der
Other
staff
2. List here the
priority-use
group(s) targeted
and estimate the
population of each
group.
1. List here the
name and
address of each
vaccination site
and the type of
vaccination
session.
3. List here the name
and address of the
nearest cold chain
facility, its distance
from the site, and
information for the
contact person.
5. Specify here the
names and contact
information for the
vaccinators, recorders,
support staff, and
supervisor for each
vaccination session.
6. List here the
name of a local
mobilizer or
influencer who
will provide
support to the
vaccination
team.
Step 5: Plan service delivery
4. Specify here the
day of the week,
date, and time of
each vaccination
session.
10. Plan service delivery strategies for key target groups
Step 5: Plan service delivery
Strategy Target groups Vaccination sites
Fixed sites Health workers, older adults,
pregnant women, and persons
with co-morbidities
Primary healthcare facilities, outpatient clinics in
government and private hospitals, private clinics,
long-term care facilities, and day care centres
Outreach
sites
Older adults, pregnant women,
and persons with co-
morbidities
Community care centres, village-designated health
outreach sites and habitations, and urban
settlements such as slums
Mobile teams
and clinics
Older adults, persons with co-
morbidities, and high-risk and
disadvantaged groups that
belong to the area.
Home visits, workplaces, marketplaces, parks and
drive-throughs, dormitories, NGOs’ offices, and
insecure areas
Mass
campaigns
Older adults and the general
population
Large settlements, public and private
establishments, education institutions, and
marketplaces
11. When planning service delivery
• Plan vaccination services at strategic locations using tailored approaches to help foster
trust in vaccines and the vaccination process.
• Consider, depending on the context and feasibility, integrating the delivery of COVID-19
vaccination with age-appropriate immunization and primary and other essential
healthcare services (such as antenatal and postnatal care, the treatment of malaria and
other endemic diseases, and health education).
• Collaborate with relevant programmes and sectors to leverage existing service delivery
structures and to scale up other platforms to deliver integrated health services.
• Use inputs gathered from social listening and community feedback mechanisms and
respected local influencers.
• Implement special approaches for high-risk groups as needed, such as offering
vaccination at specialty clinics to individuals with co-morbidities, at antenatal clinics to
pregnant persons, and at old-age homes or geriatric clinics to elderly adults.
Step 5: Plan service delivery
12. Budgetary requirements
Estimate the funding required for the following activities associated with service delivery:
• Arranging logistics for mass vaccination sites, outreach sites, and mobile teams
• Gathering input about vaccination sites from social listening and community feedback
• Remuneration for vaccination team members if they are responsible for vaccination
tasks offsite (at outreach sites) and/or outside regular service hours
• Monitoring and supervision of vaccination staff
Step 5: Plan service delivery
Share these estimates with higher level administrators so that they may be incorporated
in district, provincial, and national budget plans.
13. Remember to. . .
Step 5: Plan service delivery
❑ Tailor service delivery to each target group, including using community-based
locations, peripheral health centers, and workplaces as vaccination sites and
providing outreach and mobile vaccination teams.
❑ Expand the days and hours of operation of vaccination sites, as needed, so that
individuals in priority-use groups can be vaccinated in the evening or on weekends.
❑ Plan repeat sessions using the same service delivery strategy and teams to
vaccinate individuals in priority-use groups with the subsequent dose of a
vaccination series and/or an additional or booster dose.
❑ Report vaccines administrated at all vaccination sites regularly to a higher
administrative level in a timely and accurate manner.
14. 3. When planning vaccination sites, it is important to coordinate with other
government departments in addition to the health department.
True □ False □
4. Mobile teams should not be employed to vaccinate populations living in
insecure areas.
True □ False □
1. A needs assessment should be done to understand barriers to vaccination
in the catchment area before planning for COVID-19 vaccination.
True □ False □
2. The characteristics of the targeted population groups should be a key
determinant of service delivery approaches.
True □ False □
Post-assessment
Select the correct response.
Step 5: Plan service delivery
5. Programme managers should plan for transportation to collect unused,
partially used, and used vaccine vials from vaccination sites.
True □ False □
15. 3. When planning vaccination sites, it is important to coordinate with other
government departments in addition to the health department.
True □ False □
4. Mobile teams should not be employed to vaccinate populations living in
insecure areas.
True □ False □
1. A needs assessment should be done to understand barriers to vaccination
in the catchment area before planning for COVID-19 vaccination.
True □ False □
2. The characteristics of the targeted population groups should be a key
determinant of service delivery approaches.
True □ False □
Post-assessment (Answer key)
Select the correct response.
Step 5: Plan service delivery
5. Programme managers should plan for transportation to collect unused,
partially used, and used vaccine vials from vaccination sites.
True □ False □
16. Step 5: Plan service delivery
Additional resources
∙ Operational guidance: COVID-19 immunization service delivery modalities. Copenhagen:
WHO Regional Office for Europe. May 2021
∙ Planning and implementing high-quality supplementary immunization activities for
injectable vaccines. Using an example of measles and rubella vaccines. Field guide.
Geneva. WHO. 2016
