Chain of Custody: Handle with Care

December 30, 2020: "It's going to be the biggest operational challenge this nation has ever faced" -President Elect Biden describing the challenge his administration will face upon taking office, asserting they will significantly increase the rate of current vaccine distribution in the United States... 

December 30, 2020: From B.B.C. (2:38 AM EST): "This just in -- the National Health Service has authorized the distribution of the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, which, while slightly less effective than those from Pfizer and Moderna, are easier to distribute and store for use...which should allow for millions more to be vaccinated at a faster pace..."

Do You See What I See, Hear?: At first glance and upon casually listening, the topic of "Chain of Custody", which is in turn related to "Chain of Evidence", "Supply Chain Management", and simply "Custody" would seem out of place in this blog. But, besides the fact that anyone who occasionally visits this site knows nothing is off limits, this topic is intimately related to what we have been enduring worldwide the past several months (and we are told some months to come as well). This became very personal to me via a few additional quotes from just three days ago:

"Uh Oh...don't worry, the few drops of blood that leaked from your arm weren't really needed and I'll disinfect this chair before the next draw..." said the phlebotomist blithely (as I wondered if I should be seeing a lobotomist, allowing myself to be scheduled for a blood draw and COVID vaccination on the same day--talk about getting needled!)

"Can you keep your readers on and make sure you read the same .3ml of this vaccine that I do before I push the plunger down on the syringe...?" asked the nurse who was about to put this tiny 'piece' of COVID into my system in order to boost my immune system, to alert it to any foreign bodies resembling this --just how many shots does she think I've given and how long has it been since I had chemistry lab to recognize what .3ml should look like in a syringe? And what if I had not had my readers handy? Oh well, too late now...

Out and In, In and Out: Precious and highly personal liquid being taken out of me by one pair of hands to placed into the hands of who knows how many. And just as important possibly life giving substance being injected by another skilled set of hands after being handled by a countless number of people, starting with the incredible researcher(s) whose hands handled the microscope at all hours of the night, to those who ran the highly sophisticated machines that prepped the antiviral cocktail for me and you, to the hands that packaged it, to the driver/pilot who transported it, and into the hands of this highly dedicated nurse who is willing to be face to face with many individuals who may be infected (despite answering "no" on a prescreening questionnaire). Growing up, our prayer before a meal typically included the phrase "...and bless the hands that prepared it...". Indeed.

Precious Cargo: The challenges involved in getting sufficient products to the right place at the appointed time has been studied assiduously by business leaders and military strategists for a millennium. The success of a business as well as battle hinges in no small way on logistics, including the flow of goods as well as people. Just-In-Time delivery, for example, became a popular term in the auto industry in particular, which is a methodology aimed at reducing both production times and inventory costs (i.e., the cost of storing materials and other 'stuff' on site versus off location). We became more aware and appreciative of graduates and 'practitioners' (all those involved in the process, from beginning to the store shelf) of product/supply chain management over the past several months -- depending on your station in life and immediate priorities, this might have involved your acute awareness of the supply of PPE's, toilet paper, or other supplies you previously took for granted and now realize how many links in the chain there are, and how any weak link lead to inconvenience for some, tragic outcomes for others.

Evidently Critical: The chain of custody of physical evidence in particular becomes a main focus for both prosecuting and defense attorneys in building a case ('tainted evidence' has been responsible for the outcomes in many well known cases). Most often associated with criminal cases and over the past few decades increasingly includes that of a digital or cyber nature. It also involves a series of events which, when viewed in sequence, can (credibly) account for the actions and whereabouts of an individual during a particular period of time and location. 

Chained by Custody:  Prior to "The Change" (as one eight-year-old girl described it to me poignantly), most parents debate whose turn it is to get the children, the 'precious cargo', to the right place at the appointed hour, as well as whose turn it is to help with other activities, such as homework or baths ("It's your turn, I did it last night"). Then, almost immediately in the case of a divorce between the parents, an about face, a 180 degree turn occurs all too often, and now the dialogue frequently includes "It's my time with the children...I expect you to give me a makeup day...you were ten minutes late in dropping off/picking up..." The children, meanwhile, are watching and listening intently, and in turn ask me in my office "What just happened and  how long are we going to have to live this way?" The chain of custody just got real for these kids and they now feel like 'King Solomon's child'  (cut in half) - ridiculous and all these parents should be ashamed. The same parent(s) that a week before the divorce were all too ready to hand junior over is now pulling him by the arm: "You're mine now!" Disgusting -- a prerequisite of divorce involving children should be having all parents live this way for a few months to see how they like it...Hmm.

A Logistical Nightmare, A Dream Come True, A Sea Change: "The invasion fleet lay in readiness, comprising 6,939 vessels in total: 1,213 warships, 4,126 landing craft of various types, 736 ancillary craft, and 864 merchant vessels. The vast majority were supplied by the Royal Navy, including 892 warships and 3,261 landing craft, and involved 195,700 naval personnel..." - description of just the naval element of  code name 'Overlord', the invasion of Normandy, or D-day, on June 6, 1944. It can be argued that what the president elect is claiming, while no less important in saving lives, might not be quite as involved as what was accomplished in this earlier campaign. Another noteworthy 'piece of evidence' is that the leader in charge of this operation, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, had prepared a letter to be distributed to all the troops, in which he took full responsibility if the mission were to fail. In contrast, watch and listen if this current operation is even less than perfect, as the 'blame game' has already begun. Disgusting.

On to 2021--'Year of the Vaccine(s)'