Managing vaccination programs at a large scale is a big task and countries are leveraging the right technology tools to streamline processes. Covid-19 vaccination drives are different from other vaccination programs such as polio or smallpox that are always part of any government’s plan. The COVID-19 vaccination drives need to be planned by joining with public health officials and professionals to run the program keeping in mind the age group, managing a demand-supply gap, and keep track of vaccinated populations in a country.
Health IT and COVID-19 Vaccination Programs
Health technology can support COVID-19 vaccination programs by helping to track vaccines and rationalizing the whole process. The stakeholders of the immunization platform must take part to track the vaccination efficacy, especially in a pandemic.
The following technology tools and applications can be used to improve a vaccination drive.
- Vaccine tracking technology – Vaccines need to be stored under certain temperature conditions since they are transported from long distances. Tracking technologies come here crucial which include sensors that monitor the temperature of the vitals.
- Vaccine finders – Vaccine finders are web portals that are used to search for vaccine providers in your locality or area. The CDC is managing this web portal for COVID-19 and has recorded all the vaccination centers so people can easily go to the closest possible center from their homes conveniently.
- Checking eligibility – an inquiry form or a simple checklist uploaded on the web portal can be used to help people know about their eligibility to receive the vaccine. The CDC has made references on eligibility based on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. This is an independent group of public health professionals and experts.
- Vaccination schedule – It is just like scheduling a regular doctor’s appointment which can help to evade overcrowding at vaccination centers keeping up with the COVID-19 protocols.
- Analytics and data reporting – Automated reports and analytics are used by public health officials to monitor vaccination programs at large. Data from various sources such as Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Software, labs, and social determinants of health is used to plan vaccination outreach and distribution policies amongst groups.
How to ensure that technology is an enabler for the COVID-19 immunization drive?
Simple and user-friendly interfaces must be designed that can be used by every age group. There should also be convenient options such as an IVR call center for older population groups that aren’t comfortable scheduling online appointments. Workflows need to be streamlined and stakeholders in the vaccination drive need to be informed at every step for example; automated messages of every vaccination appointment that is booked. There needs to be smooth integration into the EMR Software so patient data can be updated with immunization records.
Technology malfunctions might be faced initially but they need to be fixed and used as a game-changer so everyone can be vaccinated quickly. Technology should be a support in our vaccination drives making them more successful and preventing the world from COVID-19.
