Managing Vaccine Distribution: Why is it necessary?

The COVID-19 Vaccine although not officially confirmed, would be much anticipated given the length of time the pandemic has kept many us away from “the ordinary”. But more importantly, for persons currently suffering or nation states with a high COVID-19 count, it presents an option to reduce the fatality risk of the population.

In addition to the availability of the vaccine however, exists the question how do we distribute? In the previous blog, we dealt with the issue of who do we distribute to but in light of the urgent need for the vaccine, it is evident that there needs to be special and strict protocol as to how the vaccine is handled or distributed. Why? Given the fact that there may be limited vaccines in the beginning of distribution and, furthermore, being able to monitor the vaccine’s impact on those it is administered to is important.T

The WHO’s EVM Effective Vaccine Management initiative provides instruments and considerations to assist in the management and monitoring of vaccines and the vaccination process, mentioning some of the reasons why it is needed. These include;

• Logistics support
• Vaccine wastage rates
• Vaccine management
• Vaccine forecasting and needs estimation
• Stock management
• Logistics tools

The above categories help in reducing wastage, mismanagement of the vaccine and ensuring that the necessary conditions for storage of the vaccine are met. It is important that, in addition to providing the vaccine, the necessary environment for housing and transporting the vaccine are considered.

Managing the vaccination stock is also an important criteria, for example, preventing stock outs by using those vaccines that are closest to expiry date or ought to be used within a certain time frame. Such considerations can be managed with an effective HMIS or simply by proper monitoring and surveillance protocols.

Monitoring the stock as it pertains to the consumables used along with the vaccine is also essential. Throughout the healthcare network whether its at the Central Stores, storage facility or at the hospitals, consistent checks must be made on all instruments to be used for vaccination and even staff available for the vaccination.

To find out more about our Vaccination management process using the HMIS Cellma see here.