Publications by authors named "Erin Claypool"
The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) was established in 1974 to ensure that children all around the world benefit from life-saving vaccines. However, in many low and middle income countries, it is extremely difficult to vaccinate the entire population with the standard regimen of vaccines. One important reason for this is geographically dispersed or nomadic populations.
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- - The study evaluates the structure of vaccine supply chains in 57 GAVI-eligible countries, examining if these chains are effectively tailored to the specific needs of each country and whether a redesign is necessary.
- - Researchers categorized these supply chains into three clusters based on their characteristics, finding that 34 out of 57 chains follow a four-level model, which doesn't significantly correlate with various national factors.
- - The results indicated that simplified supply chain models, with fewer steps between central distribution points and immunization locations, could lead to lower costs, suggesting a need for less complex and more customized designs in vaccine distribution.
Article Synopsis
- New vaccine introductions have strained global vaccine supply chains, prompting the Republic of Benin's Ministry of Health to seek improvements in their system due to suboptimal coverage.
- A computational model, HERMES, was used to evaluate three options for enhancing the vaccine supply chain, focusing on consolidating or removing the Commune level and analyzing shipping loops.
- The most effective solution combined redesigning the supply chain to a Health Zone level with the addition of shipping loops, resulting in significant cost savings and increased vaccine availability.
Article Synopsis
- Many countries need better storage and transport for vaccines, but international donors primarily provide storage rather than transport equipment.
- A study using a simulation model in Niger found that increasing stationary storage increases the transport capacity required, with significant increases for different types of vehicles.
- This means adding storage alone can lead to new transport challenges, potentially preventing vaccines from reaching their intended populations; dynamic modeling can help identify these issues.
Background: The challenge of keeping vaccines cold at health posts given the unreliability of power sources in many low- and middle-income countries and the expense and maintenance requirements of solar refrigerators has motivated the development of passive cold storage devices (PCDs), containers that keep vaccines cold without using an active energy source. With different PCDs under development, manufacturers, policymakers and funders need guidance on how varying different PCD characteristics may affect the devices' cost and utility.
Methods: We developed an economic spreadsheet model representing the lowest two levels of a typical Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) vaccine supply chain: a district store, the immunization locations that the district store serves, and the transport vehicles that operate between the district store and the immunization locations.