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The interest of vaccine specialists is focused on the methods of distribution of the vaccine of the companies “Pfizer” and “Biontech” against the emerging corona virus, which has been shown to be 90 percent effective, according to “Pfizer”, if is approved, according to Reuters.
And while waiting for the long-awaited vaccine to reach pharmacies, before the end of this year, as confirmed by an expert in infectious diseases and director of the National Institute of Allergies of the United States, Antouti Fauci, the issue of its storage remains a priority for experts.
The vaccines are expected to be shipped to the people the government deems most in need, as healthcare workers and people living in nursing homes are likely to top the list.
Complex and extremely cold vaccine storage requirements are a stumbling block for even the most sophisticated hospitals in the United States, and this can affect when and where it is available, especially in rural areas or poor countries where resources are scarce.
The main problem is that the vaccine must stay at minus 70 degrees Celsius or below.
Experts believe that cold storage requirements may hamper Pfizer’s ability to access rural healthcare systems and nursing homes, or less affluent countries, which may not have the funds for refrigeration units.
Amish Adalja, principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Safety, said the cold chain “will be one of the most difficult aspects of providing this vaccine.”
He went on to say that this would be a challenge everywhere, because hospitals even in large cities do not have storage facilities for the vaccine in the extremely cold temperature.
The Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, which is one of the most prestigious hospitals in the United States, stated that it currently does not have this capacity.
Mayo Clinic virologist and vaccine researcher Gregory Poland said, “This is a huge logistical problem not only in the United States but also outside the Western world.”
Then he continued: “We are a major medical center and we don’t have a storage capacity like this. This is a logistical hurdle.”
While a spokeswoman for “Pfizer”, Kim Pinker, said the company is working closely with the US government and state officials on how the vaccine is shipped from its distribution centers in the US, Germany and Belgium in all the world.
Suggested solutions
The detailed plan includes using dry ice to transport frozen vaccine vials by air and ground at recommended temperatures for up to 10 days, Pinker said.
Health care providers at the federal level and in individual states are responsible for storing and administering vaccines once they are delivered.
Pinker also claimed that vaccines can be kept in a very low-temperature freezer for up to six months, or for five days at 2-8 degrees Celsius, a type of refrigeration generally available in hospitals.
He added that Pfizer storage units can also be filled with ice for up to 15 days.
Vaccines are reported to spoil in about five days under normal cold temperatures that are slightly above freezing.
Biontech CEO Ugur Shaheen told Reuters the companies were studying whether they could extend the deadline to two weeks.
It should be noted that the “Modern” vaccine is based on a similar technology and does not need to be stored at an extremely low temperature.
While other vaccines, including those from “Johnson & Johnson” and “Novavax”, can be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius, which is normal refrigerator temperature.
“If it is the only vaccine that will be licensed by Pfizer in the coming months, we are concerned about fair distribution when it comes to implementing it in rural areas,” said Claire Hanan, CEO of Immunization Managers, a nonprofit organization.
Some US states said they have a shortage of freezers, according to public documents they provided to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The state of California indicated that super cold freezer supplies are limited and that nearly half of state health departments are looking to purchase or rent additional cold storage supplies.
He has proposed building a distribution network of ultra-cold freezers, including mobile vaccination clinics, to reach remote areas throughout the state.
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