BlackBerry Enables COVID-19 Vaccination Tracking for U.S. Federal Agencies

As U.S. Federal Agencies move to meet new pandemic guidelines developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), rapid and secure solutions that track COVID-19 vaccinations in a way that complies with privacy regulations is essential.  

 The BlackBerry® AtHoc® critical event management solution does just that. This FedRAMP authorized platform can be deployed rapidly and at scale to support all federal agencies as they move to create a robust and cost-effective COVID-19 vaccination tracking system. For federal agencies who currently have the BlackBerry AtHoc solution deployed, a simple software addition provides the additional capability almost overnight.

Day-to-Day Critical Event Management

Every day, federal customers use BlackBerry AtHoc to manage critical events―notifying and coordinating personnel, and accounting for their safety during hurricanes, floods, cyberattacks, and other disasters. 

With a high level of flexibility and customization, AtHoc also gives federal customers the option to leverage their existing investment and incrementally add the BlackBerry® vaccination status tracking capability to automate every step and minimize operational complexity and cost.

Ready-made templates and automated workflows equip BlackBerry AtHoc customers with the tools to implement a complete COVID-19 vaccination status tracking system that provides visibility into vaccination status, test results, and even health checks. Federal agencies can reach out to employees and contract workers, explain what information is needed, collect relevant data, protect personal information, and create up-to-the-minute dashboards and reports. The BlackBerry professional services team tailors the automated solution to each agency, as needed.

The BlackBerry COVID-19 vaccination status tracking system is simple, seamless and transparent. Because it is based on systems, processes and templates (see Figure 1) already deployed, vaccination status tracking can be activated at most federal agencies within days. Prior training of operators and daily use of the system by employees ensures that they are familiar with it. 

Scalability Across the Entire Organization

A crucial requirement of any COVID-19 management system is that it scales and can be implemented with available resources. Securely tracking the vaccination status of thousands of individuals is far beyond the scope of a spreadsheet. Manual processes take time and are prone to error. The BlackBerry solution provides real-time updates that agency senior leadership can use to monitor vaccination status daily.

Once a workflow is initiated, the system runs automatically, contacting individuals to collect their vaccination status. The information is then stored securely. Role-based permissions, least-privileged access, and automation keep sensitive data private.

A workflow to determine vaccination status may begin by asking whether a person is fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated, not vaccinated, or chooses not to disclose. Each agency creates its own workflows, fully supported by BlackBerry. Messages can explain why data is needed, why the process is important, and what options are available to workers.

Automation customizes messages for individuals (e.g., full-time employees and contractors) and minimizes the number of emails employees receive. The solution supports flexible targeting based on job function and location, and lets employees receive messages and respond on their preferred device. The system sends reminders if no response is received within a specified time.

When workers update their status, the system automatically adjusts the workflows accordingly, so employees who have already responded do not receive emails asking for the same information again. Instead, these workers are moved to the next workflow based on their response. In addition, administrators may respond for their subordinates.

BlackBerry AtHoc then aggregates the information collected for multiple levels of analysis. Leaders gain visibility into the overall metrics without exposing the personal data of individuals. These real-time reports provide insights that inform decision-making by region, facility, and department. 

BlackBerry Helps U.S. Federal Agencies with Day-to-Day Pandemic Operations

For more than 20 years, BlackBerry AtHoc has helped agencies follow government rules for emergency management, including mass notification and crisis communications. AtHoc is FedRAMP authorized and uses leading security and data privacy technology to protect sensitive information. This same robust solution can manage day-to-day operations of COVID-19 vaccination status with maximum efficiency and minimal cost.

To learn more, contact your BlackBerry account relationship manager to ask for a demo, or complete this contact request form.