The problems with the Tiberius system to prioritize vaccine distribution

A national system to prioritize COVID-19 vaccines has largely failed as states rely on their own systems Operation Warp Speed tried to help states set priorities for COVID-19 vaccine distribution with Tiberius. Few states use it as designed. YahooNews

Operation Warp Speed thought it had a futuristic solution to help ration COVID-19 vaccines so those most at risk would get doses first. It spent $16 million on Tiberius, a high-tech system meant to not only track the shipments of the vaccines but guide local decisions of where to send them.

Tiberius, which took Star Trek Capt. James T. Kirk's middle name, would allow “granular planning” all the way down to the doctor’s office, provide “a ZIP code-by-ZIP code view of priority populations,” and “ease the burden” on public health officials, the federal government said.

But the system hasn’t lived up to that promise. For many states, Tiberius proved either so irrelevant or so complicated that the only incentive for them to log on each week is to check the most basic of numbers: how many doses of vaccine they're getting. That has contributed to a patchy rollout, where access depends more on where you live and how internet savvy you are.

The Trump administration’s embrace of Tiberius was one part of its broader effort to project competence and planning expertise as the government took on one of the most massive and complex logistical challenges in U.S. history. The ensuing friction between Operation Warp Speed, the entity leading the federal government’s vaccine planning, and state efforts was typical of the finger-pointing that emerged as the rollout became reality.

In its draft vaccination plan from Oct. 17, Tennessee stated that its Department of Health “plans to use Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping and Tiberius functionality to locate/map all critical populations.”

Asked recently whether the system had met those expectations, a Tennessee Department of Health spokeswoman wrote in an email: “No. We have not found Tiberius to be helpful in this regard.”

She continued: “We run our own allocation code and use Tiberius only for tracking allocated vaccines.”

A few states reported that they are using Tiberius’s tools for prioritizing at-risk populations. The Arkansas Department of Health said in a written statement that the system “allows us to identify any gaps that need to be addressed as we determine our distribution plans for the coming weeks.” A spokeswoman for the South Carolina State Emergency Response Team wrote: “Tiberius has been very helpful in looking at several different data elements to determine priority groups, equity, essential workers.”

But most states surveyed by USA TODAY, including Maryland, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma and Wyoming, said the data Tiberius provides on demographics and vulnerable populations is less detailed than data they already have on hand. Some also criticized the timing, saying the system came too late and was too complex to learn in time for the vaccine rollout. ...