As the Philippines’ capital and neighboring cities enter an extended period of Enhanced Community Quarantine, the race to a vaccinated population has never been more critical.
“The scope and complexity of the global vaccine rollout is staggering. Consider the national government’s goal to secure 148 million doses for 70 million people this year,” said Karrie Ilagan, Managing Director of Cisco Philippines. “While there have been delays due to the complications of logistics during a global pandemic, the Philippines is already expected to receive over 47 million doses by the middle of the year. Acquiring them is step one – what we do when the vaccines are finally here is even more critical.”
With the need for proper handling of highly sensitive vaccines more urgent than ever, the IT and networking giant developed the Cisco Meraki Vaccine Distribution Solution to equip healthcare providers with tools to facilitate COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
The Cisco Meraki COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Solution is a suite of smart technology including temperature and humidity sensors, door open/close sensors, sensor cameras, wireless access points, and other networking devices devices. The solution addresses three critical challenges: Physical security for vaccine storage where logs are created to know who had access to the vaccines, as well as ensuring the physical integrity of the vaccines through temperature and humidity monitoring; Capability to setup mobile and remote vaccine distribution sites through mobile-enabled ready-to-go solution for curbside, drive-through, or in-field vaccine deliveries; and Management of traffic flow and safety to enable real-time face-mask detection, provide 24/7 indoor/outdoor video surveillance, assist with risk mitigation, and deliver immediate alerting.
“Vaccine distribution and handling can be a complex process, but with the right technology, the work can be simplified,” said Ilagan. “Healthcare providers are looking to scale operations quickly, while using automation and AI to take the burden off human agents. Cisco’ cloud-based technology enables them to quickly scale existing operations and set up new distribution centers in record time.”
This solution from Cisco is part of its country digitalization acceleration program in the Philippines dubbed as UGNAYAN 2030, a collaboration framework with government leaders, industry, and academia. The program is aimed at building greater digital resilience, ultimately growing GDP, creating new jobs and providing innovation and education across public & private sectors. Launched during the pandemic year, UGNAYAN 2030 has already served as a catalyst in providing Smart City technology for local government units, communication technology designed for disaster management and response, and remote work technology that served as the foundation for telemedicine in the country. The Cisco Meraki Vaccine Distribution Solution is the latest and most urgent program under UGNYAN 2030 to support the safe, secure and efficient administration of COVID-19 vaccines through technology that can scale, streamline and improve the process.
“The only way to tackle complex issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic is for the public and private sectors to partner closely. We all need to be pulling in the same direction to drive an inclusive recovery,” said Ilagan. “We’ve made the Cisco Meraki Vaccine Distribution Solution available to all sectors because we want to fulfill our role in providing the technology and expertise necessary to ensure the safety of the Filipino community.”
Cisco Philippines is currently in discussion with several local government units and organizations that are eligible for the Cisco Meraki COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Solution and is open to onboarding more that are looking for viable solutions for their vaccination programs. As vaccine doses start arriving in the Philippines, Cisco expects their solution roll-out to begin in the next few months.
