Salesforce launches Vaccine Cloud to accelerate Covid-19 vaccine management

The new software will be equipped to handle the complexity, speed and scale necessary for vaccine administration

Pedestrians pass in front of the Salesforce Tower in New York. Bloomberg

Cloud computing company Salesforce rolled out a new technology to help government agencies, healthcare providers, businesses, non-profits and educational institutions execute and manage their Covid-19 vaccination programmes.

The new technology, Vaccine Cloud, is part of the California-based software developer's Covid-19 response technology solutions. It offers various tools for vaccine inventory management, appointment scheduling, outcome monitoring and public health outreach.

Vaccine Cloud will be equipped to handle the complexity, speed and scale necessary for vaccine administration, Salesforce said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The biggest challenge the world faces right now is orchestrating the distribution of billions of vaccine doses … technology can play a critical role in ensuring it's done efficiently, effectively and equitably,” Bret Taylor, president and chief operating officer of Salesforce, said.

“We are proud to be supporting organisations through their recovery and helping to protect people from the effects of Covid-19,” he added.

Government agencies can use Vaccine Cloud to monitor their vaccination progress with data and insights, which helps them to maximise their programme effectiveness. This includes securing enough doses, monitoring patient outcomes and making data-driven decisions based on community health needs and risk factors.

Healthcare providers can use the platform to streamline vaccination processes such as inventory management and staff training. Vaccine Cloud can also handle all external communication to communities such as sending out a notification to schedule an initial shot or a reminder to come in for a second dose.

It will also let people share their vaccination or health status, Salesforce said.

Last month, Salesforce formed a coalition with other entities such as Microsoft, Oracle, health insurer Cigna and Mayo Clinic to establish digital records for those being inoculated against the coronavirus.

The project, called the Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI), aims to help people store encrypted digital copies of their immunisation records in a digital wallet of their choice, the companies said in a joint statement.