Optimization modeling for pandemic vaccine supply chain management: A review and future research opportunities

Abstract

During various stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic, countries implemented diverse vaccine management approaches, influenced by variations in infrastructure and socio‐economic conditions. This article provides a comprehensive overview of optimization models developed by the research community throughout the COVID‐19 era, aimed at enhancing vaccine distribution and establishing a standardized framework for future pandemic preparedness. These models address critical issues such as site selection, inventory management, allocation strategies, distribution logistics, and route optimization encountered during the COVID‐19 crisis. A unified framework is employed to describe the models, emphasizing their integration with epidemiological models to facilitate a holistic understanding. This article also summarizes evolving nature of literature, relevant research gaps, and authors' perspectives for model selection. Finally, future research scopes are detailed both in the context of modeling and solutions approaches.

An inaugural forum on epidemiological modeling for public health stakeholders in Arizona

“…COVID-19 model predictions were discussed on national news networks and in US White House press briefings (9,10). Indeed, scenario modeling of SARS-CoV-2 dynamics was critical in helping state and federal governments explore and enact large-scale interventions, such as shelter-in-place orders, to combat transmission and avert overwhelmed hospital systems (3,(11)(12)(13), and models were also used to address the optimal allocation of vaccines when they became available (14).…”