COVID-19 vaccine distribution: exploring strategic alternatives for the greater good

Abstract

The dire state of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis symbolized the urgency for efficient distribution and administration of vaccines to combat the virus as the most urgent public health service. This paper presents a prototype multi-criteria decision support model based on goal programming that can effectively support vaccination plans for the greater good of society. The optimization goals of the model include minimizing the number of fatalities and risk of spreading the disease, while complying with government health agency’s priority guidelines for vaccination. This study applied the model to a real-world dataset to demonstrate how it can be effectively applied as a decision support tool for vaccine distribution plans and manage future pandemics.

Using machine learning to explore the determinants of service satisfaction with online healthcare platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Compared with traditional in-person office visits, these platforms remove the restrictions of time and space, thus decreasing in-person hospital visits. In addition, because there is no in-person contact, the platforms also decrease the risk of spreading diseases such as COVID-19 (Asllani and Trimi 2022 ; Guo et al 2016 ). Moreover, because patients trust their online search more, no longer simply relying on physicians’ advice, online healthcare platforms have become more attractive to patients (Lee and Lee 2022 ).…”