Johannesburg Medical Professionals Launch The World’s First Official, Digitally Signed Vaccine Record for Patients and Health Workers
A team of South African and UK medical and Tech professionals are launching a pioneering app – believed to be a world first and a tool which is likely to gain massive traction in both the consumer and medical services market. The Vaccine App marks a complete departure from paper-based to digital record keeping, literally in the palm of users’ hands.
A complete move from paper-based to digital record keeping for the vaccine value chain
While global thought leaders like Bill Gates last year were pondering whether the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic might accelerate the digitisation of vaccine records (see www.gavi.org), a team of medical professionals in Johannesburg and the United Kingdom were quietly putting the finishing touches to a world first – a digitally signed vaccine record for patients and health workers alike.
“Although borne out of a completely different set of requirements i.e. busy mothers who couldn’t keep track of their infants’ paper-based vaccination records, the Vaccine App lends itself to use by adults as well for their vaccinations against diseases like pneumonia, cervical cancer, shingles and of course, COVID-19,” explains The Vaccine App team.
“Immunisations globally save lives and according to the WHO one billion children have been vaccinated in the past decade, preventing two to three million deaths every year. Moreover, a recent report in TheLancet highlighted that the Covid-19 pandemic immunisation programmes were disrupted globally. Accurate assessment of these breaches in coverage are frequently hampered by paper-based record-keeping,”
The Aim of the Vaccine App is to create a complete digital vaccine passport solution from birth to adulthood. One never needs to worry about a paper card or missing a vaccine with the built-in reminders on the app,” says the team. The product has been beta tested with a select target market since 2018, while partnerships with pharmaceutical and vaccine bodies are underway.”
What is unique about the Vaccine App?
While many apps with trackers and schedules exist, the Vaccine App is a complete solution for health workers to digitally sign the vaccine in their professional capacity and capture critical information.
How does the Vaccine App work?
The Vaccine App is easy to use. It sends reminders two weeks ahead of upcoming vaccines for registered patients. Health workers select the schedule of immunisation and manufacturer of vaccine and add date, batch number etc. They sign the vaccine digitally in their professional capacity and synch the records.Patients receive email confirmation of all vaccines given and print out pdf versions of the records when needed. Previous paper records can be uploaded by simply emailing a picture to the migration team who will assist users to move from paper to digital records. Options for non app/phone users are also being developed. Finding clinics that use The Vaccine App is simple, as they are geolocated on the app. So patients essentially have a lifelong official record in the palm of their hand!
How will usage of the Vaccine App assist public health planning for countries and communities?
As uptake grows these features will assist public health planning and assessing immunisation coverage, vaccine usage and potential outbreaks, as the data is instantly accessible and mapped. Currently coverage surveys are expensive, labour intensive and slow. The Vaccine App will assist with easy access to accurate and complete data any time planning or research requires it, making for an indispensable planning tool.
Where do users access and download the Vaccine App from?
The Vaccine App for parents is available on all app stores and Google Play Stores. To sign up as a health care professional, please contact The Vaccine App at buisness@thevaccineapp.com or go to our website and signup as a health care professional online https://onboard.thevaccineapp.com
For more information please contact media@thevaccineapp.com and we will provide you with further information
Website: www.thevaccineapp.com
