Salesforce Announces Vaccine Cloud To Help Organize Rollout

Salesforce.com Inc. CRM will release a Vaccine Cloud to help the Biden administration meet its target of vaccinating 100 million people in 100 days.

What Happened: On Wednesday, Salesforce said it would launch a new software program called Vaccine Cloud to help governments and health care providers manage and maintain records related to COVID-19 vaccinations.

The service will also help agencies manage their vaccine inventory and plan for doses based on what is needed.

Bret Taylor, the president and chief operating officer of Salesforce, said, “The biggest challenge the world faces right now is orchestrating the distribution of millions of vaccine doses. Technology can play a critical role.”

Why It Matters: The Vaccine Cloud is the next step in Salesforce’s initiative to help governments smooth out the issues around the quick and orderly inoculation of billions of people around the world.

On Jan. 13, Salesforce announced it was working with Microsoft Corporation MSFT and Oracle Corporation ORCL, as well as not-for-profit Mayo Clinic, in a coalition known as the Vaccination Credential Initiative to offer the public encrypted digital copies of their vaccination records as proof of immunity.

The digital copies, or “digital passports,” would replace the paper booklets currently used to keep track of inoculations and could be stored in digital wallets such as Apple Wallet or Google Pay.

What’s Next: Salesforce said it hopes the Vaccine Cloud will help governments, agencies and individuals plan vaccinations and keep track of health records. The Vaccine Cloud will also allow individuals to easily show proof of vaccinations if asked.

(Photo: Steven Cornfield on Unsplash)