As the COVID-19 Vaccine Begins to Circulate, IBM Tackles Logistics Via Blockchain.

At least seven COVID-19 vaccines have officially been approved throughout the world and have begun distribution. According to Bloomberg, distributing billions of these vaccines will prove to be one of the most difficult undertakings ever achieved. Many are enlisting in the logistical challenge that is now unfolding, including IBM that aims to track and secure vaccine distribution using blockchain technology.    

Map courtesy of Bloomberg News

According to a press release distributed by IBM: 

IBM has been working on a structure to address this [logistical] issue by harnessing the capability of blockchain, to enable manufacturers to proactively monitor for adverse events and improve recall management, distributors to gain real-time visibility and enhanced ability to respond to supply chain disruptions, and dispensers to improve inventory management and safety monitoring. The end goal is to have citizens trust the vaccines and confidently return to society.

IBM will be hosting a free webinar presentation on January 25, 2021, at 12:0 PM (EST) to discuss how the blockchain can be used to secure the supply chain in these trying months to come. Leading the webinar will be Mark Treshock, blockchain solution leader for healthcare and life sciences at IBM and Christopher Moose, partner in the life sciences and healthcare department at IBM.

Challenges Which Will Affect the Vaccine Supply Chain

A myriad of variables and challenges will affect the vaccine supply chain including the distribution of billions of vaccines world-wide, the need to keep vaccines at as much as 56-degrees below zero, the amount of different facilities and administration policies, and the unequal distribution of vaccines through developed and developing countries. 

Proven Healthcare Supply Chain Blockchains

Supply Chain validating blockchains in healthcare have long since been proven effective by models and technologies such as, hybrid cloud, IoT, AI and IBM’s blockchain. Also companies such as IBM, Merck, Walmart, and KPMG have used blockchains for end-to-end pharmaceutical tracing. 

What does this mean for the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector in general? 

Ultimately what we are looking at is the largest challenge blockchain technologies have ever encountered! Assuming blockchain’s will succeed in regulating and securing vaccine distribution, blockchain technology will be one step closer to proving its weight as the worlds most effective decentralization and crypto-security technology. This can only be a positive for cryptocurrency and blockchain investors around the globe as widespread testing, validation, and usage are the way forward for our industry.