Tech Mahindra partners with blockchain companies for vaccine traceability

Tech Mahindra is partnering with blockchain company StaTwig to roll out a new vaccine traceability solution worldwide as we read more in today’s blockchain news.

To resolve supply chain issues affecting COVID-19 vaccine expiration dates, Tech Mahindra has partnered with blockchain company StaTwig for a global “VaccineLedger” solution. As mass vaccination programs against COVID become increasingly important to many governments involved in pandemic management, blockchain companies are acting quickly to suggest other ways the technology can provide solutions to a number of related logistical barriers.

Blockchain company StaTwig tested its blockchain-based solution Vaccine Ledger in the US and India in 2019, but began a global vaccination program against the virus in 2021 and the company has now teamed up with Tech Mahindra to deliver solutions worldwide. VaccineLedger is focused on improving the visibility of the vaccine supply chain at the vial level to predict and prevent issues such as expiration date, counterfeiting, quality control and availability. A few days after the vaccine exchange between Israel and the UK, this resulted in an impending waste of 1 million Pfizer vaccines, so a solution was needed.

StaTwig’s solution supports the integration of smart contracts and IoT technology to detect products nearing the end of their life and ensure temperature control for sensitive devices. Through the partnership with Tech Mahindra, StaTwig will bring company expertise and system integration to support the worldwide deployment of the solution. Both companies are developing enterprise security modules for the solution’s web and mobile applications that are tailored to meet different needs and governments in different jurisdictions.

The challenges for other countries remain mixed as the U.S. is phasing out millions of doses of the COVID19 vaccine this summer due to postponement in many states. Most of the countries in the Global South are facing a bigger problem, vaccine shortages. Countries in the Global North accounted for 85% of the world’s injections, while the lowest-income countries accounted for just 0.3% of the vaccine doses given. Although globally integrated, a ledger solution cannot address politically based vaccine inequalities and could be aimed at helping global organizations reduce the impact of waste and delivery delays due to logistical inefficiencies. In areas where vaccines are scarce, these benefits can help maximize the remaining quantities.

.