Failure is not an option. The can-do spirit of Alaska was in full force this winter as members of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, based in Bethel, Alaska, delivered COVID-19 vaccines to the Alaskan bush.
Operation Togo. In a scene reminiscent of the 1925 diphtheria outbreak in Nome, Alaska—which inspired the Iditarod dog sled race—teams transported vaccines to villages in all manner of transportation, from barges and small planes to snow machines and ice roads. The vaccine delivery was called Operation Togo after the name of the lead sled dog in the famous diphtheria serum run to Nome.
Sleeves up. When weather allowed, small charter planes delivered the vaccination team to remote villages, where they were greeted on the tarmac by a line of bare-armed clinic staff awaiting shots. As soon as the team completed the vaccinations, they were back on the plane and off to the next village.