The tech industry uses a lot of resources to get millions of Americans vaccinated, amid a frightening upward spiral in COVID-19 cases.
From Microsoft Corp. MSFT,
in Seattle to International Business Machines Corp. IBM,
in Armonk, NY, technology companies nationwide offer expertise to tackle a logistical task that some compare to the moon landing.
“This is the biggest data puzzle of our lifetime,” which requires collaboration between technology companies and with federal and state governments, Jason Kelley, general manager of blockchain services at IBM, told MarketWatch. “It’s a team sport.”
For technology, the distribution of vaccines offers an opportunity and a challenge. The industry sees opportunity to burn its credentials while fulfilling an urgent social need, amid criticism for not pursuing major projects that deeply improve people’s lives. But the ambitious deployment involves many risks, as illustrated by possible security breaches in open access systems, scheduled scheduling and some fraudulent accounts.
In Florida, which reported nearly 15,000 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, online ticket service Eventbrite Inc. is operating. EB with provinces to help plan the vaccination for Floridians 65 and older, while the state struggles with snake lines, confusion and disappointment. Some fake Eventbrite accounts have surfaced, but this was an important development for the future of using such vaccine distribution services.
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“Our team investigated and found no evidence of malignant vaccination,” Eventbrite’s spokesperson told MarketWatch. “The unofficial meeting lists we found, some of which charge a fee, are probably due to user errors, where people mistakenly create new event lists instead of signing up for a time slot.”
What technology tackles is no small feat. US Digital Response, an organization that links tech-savvy volunteers to state and local governments in need of technical assistance, has outlined eight key areas for COVID-19 vaccine providers, including confirming patient suitability, reporting data to the state vaccination information system and management vaccine inventory.
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‘Technical examination for a state or country takes time. It takes an engineer’s eye to know which vendor to use for a project, ”Raphael Lee, director of USDR’s health program, told MarketWatch. His organization helped the city of Seattle and King County find a vendor, Solv, to set up test areas.
A wide variety of companies have outlined their vaccination-related plans over the past few days.
IBM offers government and private enterprise chain management software and open blockchain technology to record and verify the temperature and handling of each vaccine dose. The computer giant is also expanding the availability of IBM Digital Health Pass, the company’s new health passport app, using Salesforce.com Inc. CRM,
to help organizations verify the vaccine status of the individual and any other relevant health evidence.
In addition to its partnership with IBM, Salesforce is working with global vaccine agency Gavi on its project to distribute the vaccine fairly in 190 countries. Salesforce is also part of a project with consultant MTX for Chicago to manage the distribution of vaccines.
Read: How to Convince Your Family Members to Take the COVID-19 Vaccine
Google GOOGL from Alphabet Inc.,
GOOG,
says its cloud unit has expanded its pandemic response to help vaccinate and distribute vaccines, and is working with partners to implement vaccine management solutions at state and local governments.
“Google Cloud has expanded our pandemic response to help with vaccine vaccination, and we are working with partners to deploy vaccine management solutions to state and local governments,” a Google spokesman said. “Google helps connect people with good information and resources about COVID-19, including vaccines, and we’re working on additional products and features to get people the right information at the right time.”
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Oracle Corp. ORCL,
donated a national electronic database of health records and public health management applications to the federal government that can be used to track who has been vaccinated and who may have possible side effects. Oracle plans to bring similar systems to Africa by joining the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
Microsoft Corp MSFT,
collaborates with Ernst & Young and others on the vaccine management effort through Microsoft’s cloud and business services. The end-to-end solution helps to manage the manufacture and distribution of the vaccine in real time. According to Microsoft, the EY Vaccine Management Solution is based on Microsoft Azure, Dynamics 365, Power BI and Power Platform.
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Uber Technologies Inc. UBER,
and Lyft Inc. LIFT,
offers to help get more Americans vaccinated, and Uber has put together its ride-sharing service with vaccine maker Moderna Inc. MRNA,
to plan rides with public health agencies for those eligible for doses, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Lyft executives chatted with the incoming Biden administration about allocating federal funds for vaccine-related transportation.
In December, DoorDash Inc. DASH,
sent a letter to Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and governors nationwide, urging them to consider giving birth workers preference in their vaccine distribution plans.
“Dashers have been at the forefront every day and have provided essential services to support communities and small businesses across the country,” Max Dettig, head of DoorDash’s public policy chief, said in the Dec. 7 letter. “We are actively working with public health officials at the federal and state levels to help ensure that these key delivery workers have access to vaccinations as soon as possible.”