Blockchain for COVID-19: a comprehensive review

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Public Health
• Information Security

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has created a global health crisis.
• Managing the exponential increase in COVID-19 data presents significant storage, management, and analysis challenges.
• Securing sensitive health data transmitted online is crucial due to potential malicious activities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a comprehensive review of blockchain adoption for addressing COVID-19 challenges.
• To explore the application of blockchain in digital vaccine passports and analyze associated complexities.
• To identify research challenges and future directions in applying blockchain to pandemic management.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of blockchain technology and its applications in healthcare.
• Analysis of existing research on blockchain for data management and security.
• Case study examination of blockchain-based digital vaccine passport systems.

Main Results:

• Blockchain technology can provide efficient, transparent, and private data management solutions for COVID-19.
• Digital vaccine passports leveraging blockchain offer a potential method for verifying vaccination status.
• The review highlights the potential of blockchain in enhancing public health responses.

Conclusions:

• Blockchain technology presents a promising framework for secure and efficient management of health data during pandemics.
• Further research is needed to address challenges and fully realize the potential of blockchain in public health.
• Blockchain applications, such as digital vaccine passports, require careful consideration of complexity and implementation.