On Tuesday, the World Economic Forum published an article on the “global agenda” section of its website, titled “Business has a big role to play in vaccinating the world.” It warned of the “still raging” pandemic and the “prospect of a cold, socially distanced winter looming ahead,” and cautioned that the public must not fall prey to foolish thoughts like “the belief that the availability of a vaccine will break the spell and we can finally rid ourselves of our masks.”
“But the last mile from ‘vaccine’ to ‘vaccination’ must be trekked before our world can truly start to become safe, and that journey is fraught with challenges,” it explained, emphasizing that vaccinations are virtually meaningless unless at least “70% of the population” receives the vaccine, where the Forum’s own research shows that only 71.5% of survey participants “reported that they would be very or somewhat likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine.”
The Forum suggests that it is up to massive corporations to leverage “the influence they wield” as “large employers” to “alleviate the situation” of distrust in the vaccine “if not entirely remedy it,” by “putting in place structured programmes,” that will institute “guidance” toward employee vaccination.
The network of global corporations suggests that vaccine “evangelizing” will be important for quite some time and that the workplace is the “key” tool in pressuring individuals to receive their allotted dose.
“Workplace norms and employers that encourage pandemic-time discipline, even after the vaccination programs kickoff, will play a pivotal role in driving continued positive outcomes,” the piece reads. “Given that this is adult vaccination at a scale which we have not done ever before, it is only natural that the workplace will emerge as one of the key hubs for evangelizing and expanding vaccination cover.”
The forum also suggested that the world’s largest employers use “employment records” to provide “a rich source of demographic data” like age, ethnicity, and occupation, to propel the world toward “equitable vaccination coverage.”
The forum also sees a role for central banks in ensuring vaccine compliance:
“Governments, central banks and organizations like WHO are hugely supported by enterprises joining the good fight. Public-private partnerships, adopting the ‘all hands-on deck’ approach, have served us tremendously well even as corporations fight their own battle to protect employees, redeploy capabilities to help new pressing needs, steady cashflows and keep the economy running. From contact tracing apps, digital health passports, technology for safer public spaces, vaccine discovery, logistics capabilities for vaccine distribution to massive philanthropic funding for community support, enterprises are truly partnering nations struggling to tide things over through these trying times. Enterprises are uniquely equipped to chime in with reason and reassurance, and bring the transparency and clarity that’s needed to counter the spread of distrust and fear. Now is our chance to be the ambassadors of humanity, moving us all forward together towards a definitive end to the pandemic.”
The piece laying out this agenda was written by Infosys President Ravi Kumar S. The Great Reset touts Indian tech firm Infosys as an asset to the plan in that it is a “global leader in next-generation digital services” that enables clients from 46 different countries to “navigate their digital transformation,” with “always-on” artificial intelligence technology that “helps prioritize the execution of change.”
Last month Infosys announced that it had created a “modular vaccine management cloud solution,” or “holistic” software that covers all aspects of vaccination in society, including “citizen registration,” “campaign management,” and “prioritization.” This system is integrated with software from Salesforce, also a Reset Partner, which will “help support compliance with applicable laws, such as HIPAA.”
The software, provided through Infosys subsidiary Simplus, includes two experiences, one for “residents” and one for “providers.”
“The resident community is the one-stop-shop for individuals to find information, register with state and local governments, and schedule vaccine appointments. The provider community is the central hub for providers,” Simplus explained. “Providers may, for example, apply to become a COVID-19 vaccine provider, manage appointments, maintain inventory, log vaccine administration details and document adverse effects.”
“As we work toward a global solution during the pandemic, the importance of a robust vaccine management solution cannot be overstated,” said Ryan Westwood, CEO of Simplus. “We are thrilled to bring life-changing solutions to protect our communities.”
The creators boast that it will be able to adjust for “variables” that are “not yet known,” like “dosage frequency.”
The firm intends this tool to be a government resource, noting that it “intends to integrate the vaccine management solution with testing and contact tracing to complete an overarching containment strategy for the public sector.”
