Personal touch, word of mouth: How U.S. rural communities succeed getting COVID-19 shots into arms

Myrna Warrington, 72, receives the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination from nurse Stephanie Ciancio at Menominee Indian High School in Menominee county, Wisconsin, U.S., January 28, 2021. REUTERS/Lauren Justice

(Reuters) - When Juan Carlos Guerra got the call on Jan. 12 that his county would receive 300 COVID-19 vaccine doses the following day, he went straight to work.

Guerra, the top elected official in rural Jim Hogg County, Texas, got together with local school superintendent Susana Garza, who was helping him lead vaccination planning. They called hundreds of vaccine-eligible residents to schedule appointments, in stark contrast to big cities, where locals report struggling through maddening online registration processes.