Bengaluru startup tracks vaccines real-time for Andhra

BENGALURU: Bengaluru-based startup Intugine Technologies is partnering with the Andhra Pradesh government to track vaccine shipments to the state in real-time to ensure doses are maintained at ideal temperature.Cofounder Ayush Agarwal said the company uses GPS to track the location of vehicles transporting the vaccine. He said that four centres in India - Mumbai, Karnal, Chennai and Kolkata - supply vaccines to state headquarters from which it is taken to regional storage sites, then to district sites, and lastly, vaccination sites.

“Our work starts at the state health headquarters, from where vaccines are sent to regional centres. GPS devices in the vehicles help National Health Mission officials sitting in the control room, track their movement in real-time. They get real-time alerts if there is any delay or halt during transit,” Agarwal told The New Indian Express.As cold storage facilities are only at the start and end points, vaccines get temporary refrigeration for about four to six hours during transit, beyond which time, they may become unfit for use. Real-time tracking helps ensure that vehicles reach the regional and district facilities in time, Agarwal said.

“Tracking also helps officials plan how many doses they can administer at a site in a day, when the vehicle will reach its destination, scheduling the vaccination and maintaining inventory. We started the service at the end of January and plan to expand to other state governments as well,” he added.The vaccine supply chain across the globe is expected to face theft and counterfeiting risks, the company stated. 

Andhra Pradesh NHM mission director Bhaskar Katamneni, said that the state government wanted to monitor and control long-distance vaccine movement in real-time, and ensure a timely response in case of contingencies.The company helped monitor quarantined people in April 2020 using geo-fencing to alert authorities if there was any breach by primary contacts.