The article makes two points. First that data is important but must be curated and maintained. Second that spreadsheets require specific methodologies and expertise to prevent data quality issues from propagating.
I don't think that part of the story had anything to do with spreadsheets. It just illustrated the value of (timely) data, especially when fighting a virus and specifically in distributing scarce vaccine doses.
A virus with animal reservoirs could similarly be controlled based on monitoring where outbreaks occur and taking some action. That could be distributing vaccines, limiting access to the animals or taking some action to reduce the animal reservoir.
I don't think that part of the story had anything to do with spreadsheets. It just illustrated the value of (timely) data, especially when fighting a virus and specifically in distributing scarce vaccine doses.
A virus with animal reservoirs could similarly be controlled based on monitoring where outbreaks occur and taking some action. That could be distributing vaccines, limiting access to the animals or taking some action to reduce the animal reservoir.