Microsoft's COVID-19 vaccine rollout efforts will draw on cloud, partners

Markets have responded favorably in recent weeks to news of new Covid-19 vaccines nearing and getting regulatory approval by US and European regulators.

Dr. David Rhew, chief medical officer and VP Healthcare for Microsoft shared how Microsoft has worked with partners and customers on a range of pandemic-related solutions over the last ten months, and now vaccine management solutions are a major focus. According to Dr. Rhew, many of the underlying technologies are the same ones used for contact tracing, testing, and return to work and school programs.

So far, Microsoft Consulting Services has deployed 230 emergency Covid-19 response missions around the world, he said, including the development of the Vaccination Registration and Administration Solution for vaccine management tasks. He also pointed to Microsoft's support for secure data exchange that should help speed the rollout of vaccines using industry standards like Health Level Seven (HL7), Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) and open APIs.