Many healthcare workers who try to volunteer as vaccinators are running into an ad hoc system just as chaotic as the rollout of the vaccines. Without a streamlined, national system, the rules for eligibility aren't always easy to find and often vary from state to state. 

Many would-be vaccinators are told they need to buy medical liability insurance, and many states require background checks. Both the CARES Act and the PREP Act have eased the path for volunteers, but their impact is muted by lack of communication and understanding of the modifications, such as protection from liability. Even when there is a national volunteer system, such as the Medical Reserve Corps, not all states participate to the same extent. The stakes are high for getting it right: Volunteers will be increasingly crucial to staffing vaccination sites, especially as more Americans become eligible for the shots and mass, stadium-style sites become more prevalent. 

"We need to make sure...that we have commissioned health corps, medical military, retirees, medical students, and nursing students just about to graduate, dentists, and veterinarians in order to be out there to vaccinate the public," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said. In the meantime, there is little cohesion among states. In New York, podiatrists, dentists, and pharmacy students are giving shots. In Colorado, chiropractors and optometrists are allowed to sign up. A survey of state immunization managers shows that the only settings all states plan to tap for volunteers are medical, pharmacy, and nursing schools. 

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