The news of the successful completion of human trials of the COVID-19 vaccine is probably the best news we all have heard since the beginning of 2020.
I clearly remember the instance when the news broke. We all were thrilled, weren’t we?
The idea of going out again, ditching masks, meeting our friends, and oh, the pizza!
As I was taking a jog in my dreamy world, free from Corona, one question popped up in my mind, taking away all the joy, “what’s next?” Yes, I heard the news, but the idea of vaccinating more than half of the world and the chances of my turn coming soon seemed quite stressful to my brain.
The list of questions that followed was endless: From how the vaccine is going to reach people, to is the vaccine safe, and plenty more, my mind kept on inventing new questions for me to lose the golden ray of hope the vaccine news gave me!
I am quite sure, most of us at some point in this lockdown would have felt the same.
So, let’s find the answers to these joy-killing monsters (just kidding)!
In a recent survey, at most two organizations have announced the COVID-19 vaccine with an efficacy rate of 90 percent. The news of the Corona vaccine's successful trials may have brought relief to many of us, but without a proper supply chain management system in place, the vaccine may prove to be ineffective.
And what does an effective supply chain management system look like? Let’s see!
COVID-19 has highlighted the critical gaps between various global supply chains, and Blockchain in healthcare industry might have some solutions to bridge these gaps. Although this is a challenging task, there has to be a way out.
After a month or so, only about 4 million people in the U.S.—just over 1% of the population—have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. On a global scale, the numbers are even more distressing, with most of the countries yet to vaccinate any of their citizens. One of the biggest challenges here is the availability of operational and transparent supply chains.
Now, as we all do know what exactly Blockchain is, I am not going to go into the basics of that. From bringing effective inventory management systems to building trust in supply chains, Blockchain has many times proved its worth to us.
Here are a few of our previous writings that would help you understand the Blockchain tech for the Healthcare and pharma industry:
Measuring Supply Chain Metrics
But how can Blockchain help us in this scenario? Let’s find out!
How Blockchain is building the required supply chain?
Blockchain allows several parties to store their data on a common ledger and manage the data through a central database system. This allows the stakeholders to create and share a common immutable source of truth that can be mutually agreed upon.
Here I would like to vouch for Blockchain as a perfect infrastructure for supply chain management because:
Firstly, it is immutable, which means that data that is stored on this ledger cannot be deleted but only altered which ensures accountability from stakeholders editing the information.
And there is no single owner of this digital ledger technology, which means it provides a generic standardized protocol that participants along the supply chain can join.
Vaccinating the global population against COVID-19 is one of the greatest logistics challenges supply chains have ever faced. The distribution of COVID-19 vaccines includes not one but four main challenges in their supply chains, which are stated below:
It is important to look for demand, to understand how much vaccine is to be shipped, and to where. This helps in demand forecasting.
The distribution system, as we all already know, is full of bottlenecks. To ensure a proper supply chain management system, these bottlenecks must be managed effectively.
Another major challenge in the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain is Quality assurance. The pharma companies manufacturing the vaccine, distributors, and the patients undergoing the vaccination process, all need assurance regarding the legitimacy and the standardization of the vaccine.
Finally, the patients receiving the medicine need to be monitored for any unusual side effects, and a proper event surveillance system is required.
Blockchain in pharma industry can eliminate some of the most stubborn challenges of the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain. All the accountability, authenticity, and visibility issues in the vaccine supply chain can be well handled with Blockchain technology. This technology provides all the stakeholders with the relative simplicity of managing the supply chain. Blockchain's biggest advantage, in this case, would be the immutability of records and storage systems.
With every batch of vaccine dispatched, each member of the supply chain would have complete access to tracking and tracing of the vaccine with Blockchain technology:
Manufacturers can track the medicine and ensure that the shipment reaches its destination on time.
Distributors can provide an efficient delivery tracking system that would enable them to get regular updates about the shipment and notify them first if anything goes wrong.
Hospitals can manage their stock efficiently and help in mitigating demand and supply chain issues.
Blockchain would enable individuals to gain a guarantee for the vaccine they are receiving.
Implementing such measures in the vaccine supply chain would help tackle the greatest problems in the supply chain and streamline the entire vaccine distribution system.
Moving ahead, let's see what are some practical use-cases of Blockchain technology in terms of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution system:
The Work Ahead
Various government and central organizations are working day and night to ensure a successful vaccination drive of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Source: WeForum
Following are a few areas in which Blockchain technology is being integrated by these institutions:
- Managing demand and prices
Accurately forecasting medicine demand is one of the most important parameters for the vaccine supply chain. Some of the first vaccines to seek approval for usage in The United States and Europe, require low temp for their storage and have high prices. Due to availability issues, governments can't allow the wastage of such medicines.
The health analytics software clubbed with Blockchain technology can help to forecast the demand for medicine and analyze people's attitudes towards this vaccine. Such software is developed by IBM in conjunction with U.S health institutions, to help monitor the demand and ensure that vaccines are distributed equally.
- Monitoring for side effects
Once a distribution system is set in place, monitoring and tracking how the medicine is moving through the supply chain is another area where technologies such as Blockchain can help.
Gen-patch, a U.S.-based technology outsourcing firm, has devised a solution that helps the pharma industry track the batch of drugs in the supply chain. The distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine is generally a very challenging task as different batches of vaccine are developed by different manufacturing firms working under different contracts resulting in an array of variations and storage issues.
Tracking the batch of medicine used to vaccinate a set of people is critical to tracking the safety issues associated with the vaccine.
- Keeping a tab on the distribution system
After people have received the prescribed dosage of the vaccine, governments and hospitals need to look out for any side effects or rare complications. Although the vaccine has undergone various clinical trials to look for complications, still there would be some side effects that would surface after millions of people receive injections.
Many government institutions demand doctors and pharma companies to report any unusual side effects patients experience after being administered a drug. Sometimes the unusual events occur in large numbers which points towards a critical safety issue in medicine. Because the COVID-19 vaccine is being given to a large number of the population, the cases related to this medicine are going to be massive, making it complicated for humans to have such a large volume of data to pick up any signs of some serious problems.
This is the reason why major healthcare institutions are shifting towards Blockchain technology to store a vast amount of data and use other technologies such as machine learning to find the required answers in a short period.
So, this was it. Going back to my question regarding the vaccine supply chain and the safety of the drugs, I think a Blockchain-based pharma supply chain is the answer I was looking for.
The process of integrating Blockchain in vaccine supply chains may seem easier in words, but believe me, it is very challenging in the real world. But some efficient Blockchain development companies such as Debut Infotech can assist you in your Blockchain adoption journey.
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