Computational modeling can help plan vaccine introduction

Proper planning before the introduction of new vaccines into a developing country’s active immunization program could prevent storage problems and transportation bottlenecks that decrease the availability of existing vaccines by as much as two-thirds, according to a University of Pittsburgh study. Computational models can assess the evolving needs of the vaccine supply chain – or the series of steps required to get a vaccine from the manufacturer to the target population. The modeling can forecast the impact of new vaccine introduction and identify potential disruptions, concluded the study. “Our study highlights the importance of prior planning when introducing new vaccines to avoid last-minute temporary fixes,” said the study’s lead author, Bruce Y. Lee, M.D., M.B.A., assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology and biomedical informatics at the University of Pittsburgh. “New vaccines may not fit smoothly into supply chains and therefore fail to reach their target populations easily. These problems may prevent other vaccines...