Entrepreneur. Healthtech innovation can make the vaccine rollout a success

We’ve been vaccinating people since 1798. So you’d think that 200+ years on, we’d have perfected this process. Especially with all the innovative technology we have access to.

But as we’ve seen, this is not the case. Between delayed, recalled and expiring vaccines, our saving grace has stumbled at almost every hurdle. 

In a recent article for Entrepreneur, our President and Founder Joan Melendez shared her thoughts on why the vaccine rollout was bound to face challenges (if in the wrong hands):

From the start of the pandemic, hospitals from coast to coast have struggled to provide front-line workers with masks that meet safety standards. It’s not like these facilities lacked motivation. 

And the resources were there -- but human error (and in many cases, outright fraud) has been a huge problem. By that yardstick, the vaccine distribution process is almost certain to face much more complicated challenges.

There’s enough demand out there that responsible companies will be able to top up their profit margins as they save the world. (As it happens, my own company is rolling out a scanning and tracking solution to help make this vaccination distribution process safer in the coming weeks). 

For entrepreneurs in the health field, this is the ultimate opportunity to prove their worth for customers and patients.

The good news, as Joan highlighted, is the opportunity that exists. Tech innovation is at a high, and with remote telehealth becoming more commonplace, we hope the rest of the health industry will follow suit. 

In this Entrepreneur piece, Joan identified the key aspects in the vaccine rollout that need addressing. A.K.A., ready and waiting opportunities for health-focused entrepreneurs:

Every single step in the supply chain for this vaccine needs to go right. That’s from the manufacturer, to the truckers and shipping companies, to the receiving health facilities, right up to the literal point of contact with patients getting injections of the vaccine.

With the COVID vaccine, we have the added complication of a cold chain—actually, several. Different freezers will have to run at different temperatures for different vaccines from different manufacturers. Pfizer’s vaccine needs to be stored at minus 80 degrees, for instance—and most commercial freezers (if you can get your hands on them, given the rush) won’t even get that cold.

And at every hand-off, up to administering the vaccine to an actual person, you’ll need trained people to make sure that cold chain isn’t broken. 

As someone involved in medical technology training, I can tell you that “miracle cure” technology is only as good as the professional delivering it. Adverse events can and do happen - more often than you’d like to think. 

And the cold chain is only part of it. What about the syringes? About the packaging for those syringes? The gloves that a medical professional wears as they administer the dose?

We know the problem, and we’ve got technology to fix it.

If your healthcare facility is looking for a healthtech solution to improve patient safety, we have it. Contact us to learn more about Xcelrate UDI, or visit our FAQs.