DOST XI develops "DOSText" for efficient notification of 2nd Dose COVID 19 Vaccination Rollout

Covid-19 Update

The Department of Science and Technology Region XI (DOST XI) develops DOSText application in sending notifications for government employees who are scheduled for their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine during vaccination rollout lead by the Association of Regional Executives of National Agencies in Region XI (ARENA XI) which started on July 29, 2021.

The DOSText App is a messaging platform that is capable of delivering bulk Short Message Service (SMS) solutions to virtually any CDMA/GSM mobile handset across the globe. Currently used by ARENA XI Cluster Vaccination Team, DOSText helps DOST XI in implementing bulk SMS messaging services aimed to increase and optimize public services through mobile media.

"DOST XI deals with customers on a regular basis and communicates important notifications in a timely manner. This was the reason why DOSText was developed. It can send up to 200 messages per minute and can be installed in any Windows PC (Windows 7 and above)," said DOSText developer Louie G. Simbajon, Project Assistant II.  

Simbajon said he started conceptualizing it by the end of June until first week of July and simultaneously developed the App. To test the efficiency of the App, he ran a simulation activity from July 17-18, and started sending notifications on July 27, 2021.

DOSText works by installing the App first in a computer. Once installed, there are specific users who can login to use the App.  Important data are then fed into the app, which include: 1) the name of the recipient; 2) his/her number; and 3) group ID. The group ID will be the basis on what batch the notification will be simultaneously sent to the users.

There are also two ways in feeding or entering the data into the system: 1) via manual encoding and 2) via importing data from an excel file (can import up to more than a thousand individuals).

"After feeding the necessary data, we can proceed with the process of sending the notifications. First, select the batch of the recipients you want the message to be sent. Second, compose a message. You can also select a message template that is convenient for you. Lastly, press send," Simbajon expounded.

While Simbajon developed the system, there is an entire team that consolidates the data that will be fed on the system.

He added that they encountered challenges like limited sending of notifications to users because they used a sim card-reliant GSM modem during the first week of DOSText launching. One sim can only send a thousand messages. To address these limitations, they integrated a new Application Programming Interface (API) from Amazon Web Services account into the system.

"DOSText is a messaging platform that allows our government employees to conveniently receive text message schedules and reminders to get their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Coordinating the distribution of vaccines and disseminating the information schedule poses a challenge during the vaccination rollout. To address this, we developed DOSText to quickly and effectively communicate with our vaccinees.  Ensuring that our government workers receive their second dose within the recommended schedule is very important in order for us to achieve herd immunity," said ARENA XI President and DOST XI Regional Director, Dr. Anthony C. Sales, CESO III.

DOST XI, together with host institutions such as the University of Southeastern Philippines, University of the Philippines Mindanao, and the Philippine Regional Police Office XI, leads in the coordination of ARENA Resbakuna for government employees in Davao City. To date, the ARENA Resbakuna has already provided first dose vaccination to 8,093 government employees in three ARENA Resbakuna Vaccinaiton sites. (DOST XI S&T Information and Promotion)

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