ORAHS2024
Abstract Submission

240. A first approach to develop immunization strategies guidelines

Contributed abstract in session ME-3: Pharmaceuticals Public Policy and Regulation: Exploring pathways to improving access, affordability and availability of medicines, stream Regular talks.

Monday, 15:30-16:40
Room: Room S2

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Marisol Sarai Romero Mancilla
School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education
2. Jaime Mora-Vargas
Graduate Programs in Engineering, Tecnológico de Monterrey
3. Angel Ruiz
Opérations et systèmes de décision, Université Laval

Abstract

Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, new immunization strategies have been proposed for implementation in future health crises. A pharmacy-based immunization (PBI) proposal was previously presented in a case study in Jalisco, Mexico. PBI has been implemented throughout history in the United States, Canada, and other countries, but in Mexico mass vaccination was chosen despite the large network of pharmacies it has. However, is this the best strategy? In what phase of pandemics/epidemics should the different strategies be implemented? The purpose of this research is to show the impact of mass immunization (MI) carried out in 2020, its benefits and limitations, and to propose a hybrid immunization strategy: PBI + mass immunization (PBI-MI), as well as its benefits and limitations. To this end, we propose a mathematical formulation for the demand allocation model to mass immunization centers and a demand location-allocation model to pharmacies and mass immunization centers. The case of Jalisco, Mexico is used to illustrate the performance of the proposed approaches, and to prepare a first guide to the implementation of immunization strategies.

Keywords

Status: accepted


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