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SINGAPORE (The Straits Times / ANN): A critical part of distributing temperature-sensitive Covid-19 vaccines, manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer and BioNTech, is ensuring that a specific temperature range is maintained.
In Singapore, there are strict controls in place to ensure that the cold chain for these vaccines is not compromised and that the vaccines remain safe and effective, experts said Thursday (December 17) during a Straits Times webinar on Covid vaccination. -19.
His assurance comes after the government announced on Monday its plans to soon roll out Covid-19 vaccines in Singapore, including Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is already being administered in Britain and the United States, while other nations such as Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Kuwait have authorized its use.
Singapore administers all kinds of vaccines on a daily basis and “cold chain management is a very important part of the normal process,” said Associate Professor Lim Poh Lian, Director of the High Level Isolation Unit at the National Center for Infectious Diseases. and member of a committee of experts on Covid-19 appointed by the Ministry of Health.
For example, the Vaccination and Traveler Health Clinic at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, headed by Professor Lim, has temperature-controlled refrigerators that record any variation in temperature and this deviation from prescribed temperatures would trigger an alarm when detected.
Such a deviation may be due to the refrigerator breaking down or the electricity going off, but he assured that there will be a record of that. “In fact, we have discarded vaccines when they exceeded the temperature variation because the refrigerator broke down, for example.
“That is part of the commitment we make to safety and quality.”
He also said there is no reason to think it would be any different for Covid-19 vaccines as much more attention is being paid to them.
Another speaker at the webinar was Ashish Pal, managing director of the pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme in Singapore and Malaysia.
He noted that different vaccines have different temperature requirements and their safety and efficacy can be compromised if there is any fluctuation in temperature during the transport process leading to drug administration.
“If you look at some of the recently approved products, companies have done a lot of work to ensure that the robustness of the distribution process is intact,” said Pal, who is also president of the Singapore Pharmaceutical Industries Association.
“So there are very clear checks and balances along the way to ensure that storage conditions are not compromised alongside transport conditions, from the moment it leaves the manufacturing plant to the moment it arrives at the factory. healthcare provider’s office. “
The biopharmaceutical industry has been committed to ensuring that the safety and quality of vaccines are not compromised, Pal said, adding that the controls in place are very strict. – The Straits Times / Asia News Network
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