Abstract for: Bridging the gaps between the Vaccine Supply Chain and Viral Transmission

An essential aspect of realizing the full potential of any vaccination program is the timely administration of doses to the general population. To bring this to fruition, the goals of the agents in the vaccine supply chain must be aligned to provide a steady stream of doses to vaccination centers. We look at the supply chain decisions made by two agents: a manufacturer and an administrator. While the administrator looks for a prompt supply of doses, the manufacturer, on the other hand, aims to maximize his profit. The interdependence of the two agents in the vaccine supply chain is depicted as a system dynamics model with three subsystems: the transmission system, the administrator’s supply chain, and the manufacturer’s supply chain. Initially, we look at the agent-level decisions and then introduce systematic changes. Key results indicate that the manufacturer must prefer demand leveling and high inventory coverage. The administrator should choose a large order cycle, incentivize the manufacturer to chase the demand and share some of the burden of investing in expedited manufacturing capacity. Systematic changes like information sharing and capacity syncing have an adverse impact on both the number of deaths and manufacturer profits.