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News Commentary
The two companies’ new coronavirus vaccine candidates showed a protective effect of more than 90%, based on the results of the interim analysis that pushed US stocks to market highs. The two companies plan to apply for an emergency use permit from the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) after waiting for safety data. The two companies will start supplying them as soon as they get permission to use them, but the government intends to give priority to those in high need of vaccines, and medical workers and seniors living in nursing homes will be listed. First. Let’s go.
Minus 70 degrees or less
However, this vaccine requires temperature control at ultra-low temperatures. This can also be an obstacle for the more sophisticated hospitals in the United States and can affect when and where vaccines are available in under-resourced regions and countries.
Physer and Biontech vaccines use mRNA and must be stored below minus 70 degrees Celsius. “Cold chains will be one of the biggest challenges in immunizing the new coronavirus vaccine,” said Amesh Adalja, principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health and Safety. “Even hospitals in big cities don’t have storage facilities at such low temperatures,” he said.
In fact, the Mayo Clinic, one of the most prestigious hospitals in the United States, currently has no such facility. “Ultra-low temperature storage and handling is a significant logistical challenge,” said Dr. Gregory Poland, a virus and vaccine researcher at the hospital. “The Mayo Clinic is an important medical institution, but it does not have such facilities. It is the same in all hospitals.”
Kim Benker, a spokesperson for Pfizer, said it is working closely with authorities on how to supply vaccines worldwide from the company’s distribution centers in the United States, Germany and Belgium. It is planned to use dry ice and bring the frozen vaccine to the temperature recommended by air and land within a maximum period of 10 days.
State and local healthcare workers are responsible for the proper storage and administration of supplied vaccines.
According to Benker, vaccines can be stored in freezers for up to 6 months and in publicly available 2- to 8-degree refrigerators for 5 days. Pfizer storage facilities can replenish ice for up to 15 days.
5 days in normal refrigerator
However, the vaccine will be useless in 5 days in a normal refrigerator. Uglu Sahin, chief executive of Biontech, told Reuters he was considering extending the shelf life in a normal refrigerator to two weeks.
The US Moderna candidate, which is the same mRNA vaccine as Pfizer / Biontech, does not need to be stored at such low temperatures. Candidate vaccines like Johnson End Johnson and Nova Bucks can be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius, the same as in a normal refrigerator.
Northwell Health, a major New York hospital, is working to expand its capacity to store vaccines at ultra-low temperatures. According to Northwell’s Onysis Stephas, it is possible to deploy the vaccine before it deteriorates, but it has been determined that having a freezer will ensure a smooth supply.
Experts note that these stringent temperature requirements can impede supply to local medical and nursing homes and poor countries. “If only the Pfizer vaccine is approved in the next few months, I am concerned that it will be distributed evenly in rural areas,” said Claire Hannah, secretary general of the Vaccine Management Association. According to Stephas, many hospitals are trying to secure ultra-low temperature refrigeration equipment and inventory is already limited.
Missing equipment
According to documents submitted by US states to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), some states lack ultra-low temperature refrigeration equipment.
New Hampshire purchases additional ultra-low temperature refrigeration equipment and requests additional financial support from the government. California has also complained about the limited supply of equipment, saying that about half of the state’s healthcare sector is looking for additional equipment to buy or lease.
The state of California is also proposing to build an ultra-low temperature supply network that includes mobile vaccination clinics for hard-to-reach areas. The state plans not to supply vaccines to facilities that do not have ultra-low temperature refrigeration equipment.
According to Hannah, Pfizer vaccines come in 975 doses per container, and if you don’t have an ultra-low temperature refrigeration facility, you can use all the vaccines within 5 days or open the container lid while refilling with dry ice. You have to stay about twice. “I think it’s difficult, but I have to do my best,” Stephas said.
（Carl O’Donnell 、 翻 訳 ： AnswersNews）
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