A Decentralized COVID-19 Vaccine Tracking System Using Blockchain Technology

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines play a crucial role in preventing the spread of the disease. However, the circulation of low-quality and counterfeit vaccines seriously affects human health and the reputation of real vaccine manufacturers (VMs) and increases the amount of fear concerning vaccination. In this study, we address this problem by developing a blockchain-based COVID-19 vaccine tracking system called “Vacchain”. Our Vacchain allows users (USERs) to track and trace the route of vaccines. We propose three mechanisms, namely, a system manager (SYS-MAN), a mutual agreement concerning vaccine ownership, and vaccine passports, to enhance the security and reliability of data recorded in the Vacchain ledger. We develop this system on the Substrate platform with the Rust language. Our implementation, evaluation, and analysis have shown that Vacchain can trace and track vaccines smoothly. In addition, data security and reliability are enhanced by the abovementioned three mechanisms. The proposed system is expected to contribute to preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Keywords

• COVID-19 vaccine tracking
• blockchain for healthcare
• decentralized vaccine management
• Substrate platform
• cryptography