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Members of the West Virginia National Guard recently teamed with private sector partners Data Driven WV to design and implement an exclusive, new, operational software tool used to track the COVID-19 vaccine distribution process in West Virginia.
Identifying a need for a more advanced data system to efficiently and accurately process the ordering, receipt, distribution and accounting of COVID-19 vaccines, the team created the West Virginia Vaccine Demand Management System. (WVVDMS). The previous tracking system relied on tedious and often times inaccurate manual input which did not meet the need of National Guard’s mission. The new system will be used by the West Virginia Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) for COVID-19 Vaccines.
“The purpose of the WVVDMS is to make sure we get the right vaccine inventory to the right location in the state at the right time to meet statewide and local vaccine demand,” said U.S. Army Maj. Ryan Coss, Current Operations Officer for the WVNG’s Task Force Vaccine. “The previous tracking and management system relied on slow, inconsistent manual input that ultimately wasn’t sustainable and just didn’t meet mission standards as the dynamics of the pandemic rapidly changes.”
“In order to keep West Virginia as a national leader for overall vaccine distribution, we knew we needed a new tool. And that’s when we reached out to Data Driven WV to help us design a more professional and powerful way forward,” he added.
Primary considerations when creating the WVVDMS system were simplicity, user friendliness, ability to prevent error, versatility and adaptability. These qualities were prioritized to meet the needs of the state’s whole of community and whole of government vaccination approach.
Once personnel from Data Driven WV were engaged, it took a total of some 144 hours over a six-day period of collaboration and design efforts to complete the task.
“We couldn’t be happier with the results,” said Coss. “The new system has allowed us to automate large sections of our management process and to replace the majority of tedious and mistake-prone manual input requirements. We have streamlined our operations and increased our capacity which allows us to better serve the state. Our partnership with Data Driven WV is a win-win for both state leadership, and the citizens of West Virginia.”
Data Driven WV is a program of the West Virginia University John Chambers College of Business and Economics that provides students with real world data analytics experience. The program seeks to support the prosperity and health of the state through data-driven technical insights and analytic solutions while providing the next generation of data scientists and analytics professionals the opportunity to contribute to society.
| Date Taken: | 02.26.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.26.2021 12:36 |
| Story ID: | 390035 |
| Location: | CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 142 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, W.Va. Guard and Partners Design new Software Tool for COVID-19 Vaccine Management, by Edwin Wriston, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
