COVID-19 soğuk zincir aşı dağıtım ağının tıbbi atık yönetimi ile optimize edilmesi: Bir sağlam optimizasyon yaklaşımı

The COVID-19 virus, which emerged at the end of 2019, spread worldwide and causing a pandemic. This situation affected the whole world adversely, both socially and economically. COVID-19 vaccine studies started from the very beginning of the process for the vaccine, which is our strongest weapon against such epidemics. Although the production and development process for the COVID-19 vaccine is the most challenging, it also requires a challenging distribution process to vaccinate the population to ensure social immunity fully. Vaccines have special transport and storage conditions due to their compositions. For example, they must be kept within certain temperature ranges. Therefore, cold chain systems are needed. Breaking the cold chain can cause vaccines to deteriorate or become ineffective. This thesis focuses on the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine at the provincial level in Turkey together with medical waste management, considering the cold chain requirements and the perishable nature of vaccines. In this context, first, a literature review is conducted, and previous studies on the vaccine distribution network are examined. In addition, considering the differences in the COVID-19 vaccine, gaps in the literature are revealed. Afterward, a Mixed-integer Linear Programming Model is presented to solve the problem. Then, the presented model is tested for the province of Izmir with deterministic data, and the results are analyzed. Additionally, a Robust Model is created using Robust Optimization techniques to handle uncertainties and analyze different situations that may arise. Finally, some suggestions are made for future work.