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Sunday, December 27, 2020
Delayed start of vaccination
Biontech: safe vaccine despite cooling failure
While vaccinations are already being diligently carried out in some federal states, concerns are raised in Upper Franconia and Augsburg about whether the cold chain has been maintained at all times: the start of corona virus vaccination is postponed . Vaccine maker Biontech makes it clear: the vaccine is still safe.
Mainz biotech company Biontech considers its corona vaccine to be safe regardless of reported problems with the cold chain. “We informed the districts of Dillingen and Augsburg this morning that the temperature drift that was recorded has no effect on the quality of the vaccine,” a Biontech spokeswoman said when asked.
In the Bavarian district of Lichtenfels, the vaccines arrived in a cooler that should have a temperature of less than eight degrees Celsius. But it should have been about that at times, as a district office spokesperson said. The vaccine came from the deep-frozen warehouse in Erlangen and then went to Bamberg for further distribution in individual cities. The Coburg, Lichtenfels, Kronach, Kulmbach, Bayreuth, Hof and Wunsiedel vaccination centers had jointly approached Biontech and asked for advice. A total of 1000 vaccine syringes were affected.
In much of Upper Franconia, Augsburg district authorities had to postpone the start of vaccination against the corona virus in advance. “The integrated cooling log shows that the temperature recorded during transport was initially three degrees Celsius and then minus one degree Celsius,” said Augsburg District Administrator Martin Sailer. A possible background is a malfunction of the cooler, but also a decrease in the temperature recorded in the box due to the vaccine, which was originally still frozen.
According to the manufacturer Biontech, the vaccine should be stored for a longer period at minus 70 degrees. In specially developed shipping boxes with dry ice, the preparation can withstand these temperatures for up to 15 days. At vaccination centers, the vaccine can be stored unopened in delivery boxes or in conventional refrigerators for up to five days between two and eight degrees, according to the company. The preparation can even be stored up to 30 degrees up to two hours before injection. The actual vaccination can take place at room temperature, Biontech said.
