IBM and Moderna have come together to bolster trust in vaccine programs, increase vaccination rates, and reduce community spread. Let’s understand the implications of this collaboration on vaccine management.
Last week, Moderna and IBM announcedOpens a new window their intentions to work together to investigate how advanced technology could help in better COVID-19 vaccine management. The companies will explore technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and hybrid cloud to enable faster data transfer between governments, healthcare providers, life science organizations, and individuals. This could mark the beginning of a smarter vaccine management program and encourage other tech players to venture into COVID-19 relief.
The primary objective of the collaboration is to pilot standardized vaccine distribution programs that are essentially technology-enabled. The programs are aimed at improving supply chain visibility with near real-time tracking of vaccine administration. The partnership’s ultimate goal is to push the vaccine programs forward and gain people’s confidence in them. This may eventually lead to an increase in vaccination, which can further reduce community spread.
IBM & Moderna plan to explore tech solutions for smarter COVID-19 vaccine management. The effort includes piloting tech-enabled vaccine distribution solutions aimed at improving supply chain visibility & fostering real-time vaccine administration tracking. pic.twitter.com/UTeJYvW0lZOpens a new window
— IBM News (@IBMNews) March 4, 2021Opens a new window
Focus Areas of the Collaboration
The collaborative work, which is expected to explore the utility of IBM’s capabilities in the U.S, will focus on two facets:
1. Vaccine management solutions
These solutions will address potential supply chain disruptions in the distribution program by providing end-to-end traceability. With this, the governments and healthcare providers will be able to share data securely. The data regarding individual vaccine batches needs to be secure as it travels through various complex stages of the COVID-19 supply chain — right from manufacturing facilities to the destination.Â
2. Digital Health Pass
The Digital Health PassOpens a new window is a blockchain-enabled technology service that allows individuals to gain complete control over their personal health information. The pass will help people share their personal data with government authorities and healthcare institutions in a secure, verifiable, and trusted way. Besides, the pass will also give organizations a secure platform to verify health credentials for employees, customers, and travelers based on the organization’s criteria. Organizational criteria can be based on test results, vaccination records, temperature checks, to name a few.
“If ever there was a time to rally around open technology and collaboration, it’s now,†said Jason Kelley, managing partner and global strategic alliances leader for IBM. “As governments, pharmacy chains, healthcare providers, and life sciences companies continue to scale and connect their tools, and as new players enter the supply chain, open technology can help drive more transparency and bolster trust while helping to ensure accessibility and equity in the process.â€
IBM’s Efforts to Address the Pandemic
Teaming up with IBM implies that Moderna will be able to access IBM’s technology portfolio, which will help in vaccine distribution programs and data sharing. Simultaneously, IBM will be better placed to extend its on-going efforts to help address the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a technology company, IBM has raised its hand in the global fight against the pandemic since the very beginning. This was evident at the onset of the pandemic when IBM joined the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and other technology companies as part of the COVID-19 High-Performance Computing Consortium. This partnership aimed to provide supercomputing resources to researchers to speed the discovery and development of COVID-19 vaccines in shorter timelines.
Besides, IBM also offered its IBM Clinical Development (ICD) solution to eligible trial sponsor organizations. Offering IBM IDC was a part of IBM’s medical community support efforts to help tackle the virus. IBM’s involvement in the pandemic-related issues received interest from numerous hospitals, sponsors, contract research organizations, and academic institutions.Â
In December 2020, IBM’s team identified a global phishing campaign targeting organizations associated with the COVID-19 cold chain. The cold chain is a critical component of the vaccine supply chain. It ensures safe preservation of vaccines in temperature-controlled environments during storage and transportation. IBM’s analysis indicated that the COVID-19 phishing campaign covered six countries and targeted organizations associated with Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance’s Cold Chain Equipment Optimization Platform (CCEOP) program.Â
In conclusion
As Moderna and IBM join forces, the pharmaceutical company is planning a blockchain pilot. The project will provide vaccine traceability to help government and healthcare providers monitor the status of vaccine batches through the entire supply chain. IBM is surely playing a pivotal role in the global fight against the pandemic. Let’s hope its technology portfolio helps the vaccine distribution programs in the upcoming months.
Do you think IBM’s advanced tech will help in overcoming the vaccine supply chain disruptions? Comment below or let us know on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We’d love to hear from you!