Chris Johnson Forecasts COVID-19 Vaccine Workforce

With a doctorate in astrophysics, Senior Data Scientist Chris Johnson has spent a lot of time looking up at the stars. Before he joined Booz Allen, he analyzed large data sets for the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Now Chris is focusing his passion for data science on more earthly pursuits: public health data sets. He is the lead developer for Booz Allen’s COVID-19 Vaccination Workforce Simulator.

Health departments can use this user-friendly online tool to figure out how many clinical and clerical workers they’ll need to staff vaccination sites based on vaccine distribution and availability. It’s one of many solutions we’ve developed to help aid in pandemic response efforts.

While it might seem like a giant leap from astrophysics to life sciences, the transition was quite natural for Chris. “Data sets change based on the subject matter,” he says. “But the core data science techniques, like modeling, coding, and statistical analysis? They stay the same.”

We recently sat down with Chris to learn more about his role in building the simulator—and how he’s making a difference in the COVID-19 public health response. 

Tell us about your role in designing the simulator.
We knew the simulator needed to be a robust and practical tool that health authorities could rely on as they plan how to staff their vaccination sites. As the team’s lead developer and data scientist, I built the simulator from the ground up. I was responsible for everything on the back end, from building and implementing the model, writing the code, developing the code infrastructure, and more. In the testing environment, our team had colleagues use the tool and try to break it. I would then fix whatever they broke and iterate on the code until we were ready to push it into a production environment.

What has been most rewarding about this work?
It’s amazing to me to see that something I’ve built is helping people in the real world. I’m truly humbled. Especially during the pandemic, it’s been rewarding to create a practical solution that is making a difference. The simulator can forecast the number of clinical and administrative workers needed to help with COVID-19 vaccinations, no matter where you live. On our analytics dashboard, we’ve seen that users are accessing the tool not only from across the nation—especially in rural areas—but also from around the world, such as from India, Germany, and Spain.

Above and beyond your work on the simulator, tell us about your day-to-day role on Booz Allen’s artificial intelligence/machine learning supply chain management team.
I’m part of a team that recently developed a supply chain allocation tool for a government public health client. It’s a web app that helps the agency allocate COVID-19 supplies across the U.S. based on user inputs and real-time data. I’m proud that it’s having a lasting impact for the agency and those who work directly with it.

Finish this sentence: I’m changing the world by…
Helping people to help people.