Digital assistance for Brazil’s COVID vaccinations

The national research and education network of Brazil, RNP, mobilized resources in support of a national plan for COVID-19 vaccinations. Severely hit by the global pandemic, passing 250,000 deaths in February 2021, and combating new virus variants, Brazil is urgently pursuing vaccinations.

Here, RNP has stepped in to provide a much-needed overview of scientific infrastructure which can be allocated in support of the national vaccination program. RNP operates and develops the national science infrastructure (PNIPE). The infrastructure covers the science and technology institutes (ICTs) of Brazil. The ICTs have various types of equipment that can be crucial in the vast task of mass vaccination. For instance, freezer capacity is a highly necessary resource.

A direct benefit to society

The role of RNP will be to map the available resources, and maintain an updated overview as the vaccine roll-out continues.

“We already have an overview of the laboratories and equipment available to the scientific community. By extending the overview to information about freezers and similar equipment we can support the national strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, providing a direct benefit to society,” says Antônio Carlos F. Nunes, Director of Services & Solutions at RNP.

New tailormade functionalities

The involvement of the national research and education network was prompted by the ministry for science, technology and innovation MCTI.

“With this initiative in support of the battle against COVID-19, RNP has committed to develop new functionalities which are tailormade to meet the needs of the (vaccination, ed.) campaign, and assist both MCTI and the Ministry of Health with information on the allocated equipment,” says Marcelo Morales, secretary for research and scientific education at MCTI.

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