Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
16th International Conference on Management Science and Engineering Management (ICMSEM), Ankara, Türkiye, 3 - 06 Ağustos 2022, cilt.145, ss.702-714
The COVID-19 epidemic that emerged in China two years ago has threatened the world due to its rapid contagion, and it was examined by many academics from several aspects, one of which is the field of medicine. The problem of distributing the developed vaccines to hospitals and vaccination centers in a fast and reliable manner has arisen. To cope with this epidemic, the problem of vaccine distribution has become an important issue. Distributing the vaccines from one single point to all provincial centers will cause a delay in the transfer process. Considering mRNA vaccines are of a special type of vaccine that needs to be stored below -70 degrees, establishment of cold storages in every hospital at such a low temperature will be costly. Therefore, it is necessary to determine distribution centers where these cold storages can be installed. Moreover, to have a fast and economical way to distribute the vaccines, additional distribution centers should be established considering the insufficiency of the current facilities due to increased demand. To determine the location of the vaccine distribution centers, the distance between the vaccination centers and the vaccine distribution centers should be taken into account as well as vaccine demand of hospitals. Looking at the previous studies, it can be seen that many scholars used the p-median model to determine the facility location, however, there has not been any study on the selection of the vaccine distribution facility location using the p-median model. In this study, a p-median model is developed to select the location of new vaccine distribution centers to be opened. In this model, different alternatives were discussed in order to determine the new distribution centers needed in Ankara due to the increased vaccination rates. The model is solved with the GAMS 24.1.3 program. As a result, the hospital where the best solution was obtained, has been determined as the new distribution center. In the last part of the study, the advantages of opening a new vaccine distribution center are mentioned.