IBM has outlined how a blockchain-based digital health "passport" could allow society to reopen without the need to expose our private medical data. Coronavirus: Business and technology in a pandemic. From cancelled conferences to disrupted supply chains, not a corner of the global economy is immune to the spread of COVID Read More. After a year of lockdowns, millions of cases worldwide, and both social and economic devastation, COVID continues to make its presence known. Thanks to the efforts of scientists, vaccination programs are underway.