{"id":31508,"date":"2021-02-01T16:51:03","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T21:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=31508"},"modified":"2021-02-01T16:51:03","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T21:51:03","slug":"cdcs-vaccine-data-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/01\/cdcs-vaccine-data-system\/","title":{"rendered":"CDC’s Vaccine Data System"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cat Ferguson<\/a> (via Hacker News<\/a>, Reddit<\/a>):<\/p>\n

Unless you’re in one of the few states using it, you may not have heard of VAMS. But it was supposed to be a one-stop shop where employers, state officials, clinics, and individuals could manage scheduling, inventory, and reporting for covid shots—and free for anyone to use.<\/p>

Instead, “VAMS has become a cuss word,” Marshall Taylor, head of South Carolina’s health department, told state lawmakers<\/a> in January. He went on to describe how the system has badly hurt their immunization efforts so far. Faced with a string of problems and bugs, several states, including South Carolina, are choosing to hack together their own solutions, or pay for private systems instead.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

In May, it gave the task to consulting company Deloitte, a huge federal contractor, with a $16 million<\/a> no-bid contract to manage “covid-19 vaccine distribution and administration tracking.” In December, Deloitte snagged another $28 million<\/a> for the project, again with no competition. The contract specifies that the award could go as high as $32 million, leaving taxpayers with a bill between $44 and $48 million.<\/p>

Why was Deloitte awarded the project on a no-bid basis? The contracts<\/a> claim the company was the only “responsible source<\/a>” to build the tool.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n