Understanding the Last Mile Transportation Concept Impacting Underserved Global Communities to Save Lives During COVID-19 Pandemic

• Main Authors: Erick C. Jones, Gohar Azeem, Felicia Jefferson, Marcia Henry, Shannon Abolmaali, Janice Sparks
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-09-01
• Series: Frontiers in Future Transportation
• Subjects: supply chain modeling; COVID19; underserved communities; last mile transportation; community mapping
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffutr.2021.732331/full
• ISSN: 2673-5210

The underserved population could be at risk during the times of crisis, unless there is strong involvement from government agencies such as local and state Health departments and federal Center for Disease Control (CDC). The COVID-19 pandemic was a crisis of different proportion, creating a different type of burden on government agencies. Vulnerable communities including the elderly populations and communities of color have been especially hard hit by this pandemic. This forced these agencies to change their strategies and supply chains to support all populations receiving therapeutics. The National Science Foundation [National Science Foundation (NSF) Award Abstract # 2028612] funded RAID Labs to help federal agencies with strategies. This paper is based on a NSF funded grant to work on investigating supply chain strategies that would minimize the impact on underserved populations during pandemic. This NSF funded study identified the phenomena of last mile importance. The last mile transportation concept was critical in saving lives during the pandemic for underserved populations. The supply chain model then maximizes social goods by sending drugs or vaccines to the communities that need it the most regardless of ability to pay. The outcome of this study helped us prioritize the communities that need the vaccines the most. This informs our supply chain model to shift resources to these areas showing the value in real time prioritization of the COVID-19 supply chain. This paper provides information can be used in our healthcare supply chain model to ensure timely delivery of vaccines and supplies to COVID-19 patients that are the most vulnerable and hence the overall impact of COVID-19 can be minimized. The use of electrical vehicles for last mile transportation can help in significantly fighting the climate change.