Why IoT is Vital to a Successful COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution in Indonesia

COVID-19 vaccines have started to become available in some countries, including Indonesia. However, according to the People’s Vaccine Alliance, in 67 developing or poor countries, only one out of every 10 people will be vaccinated by the end of 2021. Sure, the race to manufacture a viable COVID-19 vaccine is a good thing for humanity, but given the logistical challenges of delivering vaccines to people across countries, the research shows that distributing vaccines safely and quickly is not an easy task.

Apart from the logistical challenges, vaccines also need to be temperature-controlled or they are more likely to lose their efficacy. Currently, about a quarter of vaccines deteriorate due to mistakes during shipping such as pallets being left out cold for too long. With the existing challenges of the pharmaceutical industry, the supply chain of the COVID-19 vaccine requires and an agile and efficient module for effective distribution of the vaccine.

Fortunately, the Internet of Things technology offers a potential solution and this is exactly why logistic and supply chain organizations are deploying IoT-enabled tools for monitoring and maintaining COVID-19 vaccines. Let’s see how IoT can help us get the vaccine across the country faster and safer.

Environmental Condition Monitoring

Establishing visibility through multiple high-coverage IoT sensors enables logistic and supply chain companies to get real-time conditions on vaccines such as location, shipment status, temperature, and surroundings. The monitoring can ensure that the vaccine arrives at its ideal condition and if anything happens, precautions may already be planned.

Location Tracking

IoT sensors communicating to the gateways enables pharmaceutical companies that are involved in the vaccines’ transport to keep track of the whereabouts of the vaccines. This will give them a heads up to schedule the next transport or the exact date the end-user company will be able to start using the vaccines.

Reduces Loss

The vaccines will travel via automobiles, trains, planes, and even boats or local transportation in some countries. At various transfer points, some will encounter delays caused by missed handoffs, product spoilage, or compliance issues. With automatic notification system, transporters can be notified of these unexpected delays or temperature excursions, and react before the vaccines are damaged.

Eliminates Time-Consuming Data Examination

When it comes to examining large amounts of data, IoT uses data analytics. This software helps in examining vaccine warehouses and queries large amounts of data in other departments as well. With data analytics, logistic and supply chain companies can get rapid results from large datasets and get the advantage of visualizing vaccine storage and shipment statistics.

Implementing IoT devices and sensors across the supply chain of COVID-19 vaccine will aid in the successful strategic distribution, but meticulous plan and execution will ensure the long-lasting benefits on lives and livelihoods. Visit https://telkomseliot.com and decide your way to safely distribute COVID-19 vaccine across Indonesia with the right IoT technology.