Innovative Tool Developed to Distribute Vaccines Fairly and Minimize Waste

No one knows exactly how many doses of coronavirus vaccines were discarded during the pandemic. But the numbers are high. Media reported that 125,000 doses went unused in Norway during 2021 alone.

\"We started planning quite late in Norway. There wasn't enough information about what kind of vaccines we'd get and when they'd arrive. There were also no systems to effectively gather and use data,\" says Hossein Baharmand, a researcher at the University of Agder (UiA) who led the development of a new system to assist authorities in distributing vaccines.

The system uses data accessible to decision-makers, considering factors like the number of vaccines, population count in each municipality, prioritized groups, distances between storage and vaccination sites, available transport, and health center capacities. The result is a fair and feasible plan for vaccine distribution.

During the Covid pandemic, Norwegian authorities faced challenges in organizing information effectively, leading to wastage of vaccines. The new system aims to address these issues and ensure equitable planning for vaccine distribution.

The system requires authorities to prioritize groups for vaccination and aims to maintain a smooth pace for vaccination, ensuring everyone gets a chance to take the vaccine. It has been provided to health authorities in African countries and can be adapted for different situations.

The system developed by the researchers is particularly useful for countries with poor infrastructure, like Uganda, and can help prevent vaccine wastage due to inadequate storage capacity. The researchers hope the system will be further developed and implemented in African countries.

Further research is being sought to study vaccine distribution in Senegal, with a focus on understanding factors influencing vaccine acceptance. The system is ready for use in future pandemics and can be adjusted for any country and situation.

The CONTRA project

• Funded by the Research Council of Norway
• Led by Hossein Baharmand at UiA
• Participants from Belgium, Turkey, and Norway
• Developed a tool for planning vaccine distribution in a smart and equitable manner
• The system is available as open source and can be adapted to different countries and contexts.