Challenges to effective vaccine distribution in emerging Asia

The vaccine will likely be manufactured in developed markets, given their medical manufacturing infrastructure, e.g. bio-medical facilities, quality checks regime and talent pools. For emerging markets, especially here in Asia, this will mean a heavy reliance on their logistics distribution networks to ensure that the vaccine can be efficiently deployed once it arrives. 

Some markets will face more challenges than others in Asia-Pacific

Logistics networks across the region are relatively uneven, with more infrastructure in developed economies than in the emerging ones. However, there has been a significant effort into building infrastructure to expand distribution networks within the region. 

China’s Belt and Road Initiative is one such effort and the improvements have been noted within the World Bank’s 2019 Logistics Performance Index (LPI) ranking. The LPI is a qualitative and quantitative index compiled through a survey of global supply chain and logistics operators, whereby they give feedback on countries they operate in, supplemented with data on the performance of key components (e.g. infrastructure, road density etc.) which affect logistics’ chains.

From the table, we can see that the majority of Asia-Pacific economies rank highly, in the 25th percentile of 160 economies globally. Notable emerging markets, such as Thailand and Vietnam, have benefitted greatly from large infrastructure investments, both domestic and international, over the past several years. 

The next 50th percentile tier sees several major South-East Asian economies who have adequate logistics networks in place but could see more improvements. This is especially the case for markets such as India, Philippines and Indonesia who have large rural populations. The lower percentiles are the markets which have some logistics networks in place, but they are not fully mature and would likely face challenges in efficiently distributing a vaccine.  

Storing and dissemination of vaccine considerations

1. Cold chain network

The essential requirement of vaccine storage is an environment between -80 to 8 degrees Celsius. This is easily met with cold storage warehouses in Asia typically requiring temperature environments of less than 4% Celsius to operate. The footprint of cold chain networks across the Asian markets, especially within the emerging economies although in their infancy, has been on the rise due to the rising middle class and increasing demand for fresh produce. However, the drawback is that most cold chain networks remain largely linear, linking main urban areas to a major food processing hub (e.g. airport logistics centres, food processing zones) and will not cover the rural areas which can account for up to 40% of population. 

2. Storage of supporting peripherals 

Along with the vaccine, there will also be a need to store the supporting medical equipment, such as personal protection equipment (PPE) used by front line workers, medical syringes and the necessary coolants that fuel the vaccine chillers for transport and deployment; this will be especially crucial for regions such as South-East Asia which have tropical climates.  

3. Deployment of vaccine to the general population 

After overcoming the storage and dissemination, the final step would be deployment of the vaccine to inoculate the general population. While many would envisage hospitals, medical centres, and clinics as the likely places to conduct the vaccinations, this will divert crucial medical resources from other non-covid related medical needs. Furthermore, many emerging Asian economies will struggle given their general lack of sufficient medical infrastructure. A large urban area of millions may only have a handful of large medical facilities, leading to long wait times, while residents in rural areas could face long commute times. 

While the setting up of temporary medical facilities, in both urban and rural areas, is one solution, this will require time and resources which many local governments might not have. One potential solution for this would be to convert existing real estate within the hospitality sector, for example hotels, motels and resorts, which are currently underutilised and geographically more spread out as compared to medical facilities. In addition, the segregated rooms within the hospitality asset acts as a natural barrier to prevent the spread of the virus given the large crowd gathering to receive the vaccination. 

Concluding remarks

While most of the Asia-Pacific economies have the required distribution networks and capabilities in place to ensure a quick and efficient deployment of vaccines, there are some that will inevitably struggle. 

Immature networks could hamper the vaccines deployment and speed in eradicating the virus from these countries. As a result, authorities within these markets need to begin planning to ensure systems are in place for when the vaccine arrives. An example of this could come in the form of public private partnerships with cold-store or warehouse developers to build the network of these. Not only will this help in vaccine dissemination but could subsequently benefit the economy in a post pandemic recovery with more efficient infrastructure when converted to its original use.