Moderna and IBM Team Up to Accelerate Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Management

Moderna will be utilizing IBM’s Digital Health Pass to manage and share vaccine data across different organizations.

(Image source: Pexels.)

(Stock photo.)

Vaccine developer Moderna is teaming up with IBM to improve distribution and tracking systems for COVID-19 vaccine administration programs. According to a March 4 announcement, Moderna will be utilizing IBM’s blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and hybrid cloud technologies to explore ways of optimizing vaccine supply chain management. Both companies are hoping this approach will improve the public’s trust in vaccine programs and increase the rates of vaccination. They are aiming to achieve this by enabling real-time tracking of inoculations and accelerating data sharing capacity among health care providers.

A distribution pilot will be launched to introduce and test the new technology, which will be built on IBM’s suite of products. This includes IBM Digital Health Pass, which is built on blockchain technology and allows users to manage health care information. Similarly, this technology also provides health care organizations with the ability to easily verify the vaccination records and test results of employees, customers and travelers. The two companies will be expanding this effort to extend their information sharing capacity to accommodate government agencies and life science organizations, giving them access to relevant data.

According to Moderna and IBM, end-to-end traceability can be a powerful feature for addressing and mitigating supply chain mishaps. The COVID-19 supply chain has proved to be complex, involving various stakeholders ranging from manufacturing facilities to administration sites. These solutions will enable both the government as well as health care providers to share and manage data much quicker and safer as restrictions begin to ease up.

“If ever there was a time to rally around open technology and collaboration, it’s now,” said Jason Kelley, IBM’s global strategic alliances leader. “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.”

IBM initially joined the COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium along with Hewlett Packard and Microsoft during the start of the pandemic, when they provided supercomputing resources for COVID-19 vaccine researchers. The technology company also designed the IBM Clinical Development tool, which allowed research organizations, hospitals and academic institutions to streamline clinical trials under one data management system.

The partnership with Moderna is part of IBM’s continued endeavor to provide technology solutions that address the pandemic through its existing portfolio of tools. Other technology companies such as Salesforce, Microsoft and Oracle have also joined the efforts to digitize vaccination data and develop advanced management systems that can be accessed by institutions vital to the fight against the COVID-19 virus.

For more information about IBM Digital Health Pass, visit https://www.ibm.com/products/digital-health-pass.