A quarter of all vaccines are degraded by the time they arrive at their destination according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Identifying weak links in the supply chain is the key. For example, more than 50% of the temperature excursions occur during airline and airport handling, according to IATA.

IoT location and status tracking will be just as important to prevent theft or diversion of these high-value drugs as they are transported around the world.

Vodafone together with Vodafone Innovus has teamed up to create an IOT End to End solution for ensuring vaccine integrity as it is transported. This solution provides a plug and play NB-IOT/ LTE-M/ 2G connected sensor and an application to check the temperature and humidity status of the vaccines in real time and from anywhere.