Challenges in the storage and transportation of the new corona vaccine October 25, 22:26
Several candidates for the new coronavirus vaccine are in the final stages of development, but the challenge now is how to carry large quantities of the vaccine.
Unlike influenza, some new coronavirus vaccines are likely to need to be stored and transported at a fairly low temperature of -60 to 80 degrees Celsius, and in the United States, logistics with a large amount of freezer Construction of bases is underway.
Some vaccines for the new coronavirus, which have entered the final stages of development, are manufactured by a new method different from the past, and according to the data presented at the meeting of the CDC = Disease Control Center in the United States, the United States The vaccine of Pfizer, a major pharmaceutical company, needs to be stored frozen at -60 to 80 degrees Celsius if it is to be stored for a certain period of time, and the vaccine of Moderna in the United States also needs to be stored at -20 degrees Celsius.
According to experts, all vaccines contain a perishable ingredient called "mRNA", and if the temperature is not properly controlled, the effect may be lost even if the vaccine is inoculated.
For this reason, in the United States, there is an urgent need to build a supply chain on how to deliver the completed vaccine to the site of inoculation such as hospitals without impairing the quality, and the American logistics giant "UPS" is spreading all over the United States. We are building a huge refrigeration facility in southern Kentucky to serve as a strategic hub for transporting vaccines.
The facility is equipped with up to several hundred freezers that can store vaccines at a low temperature of -80 degrees Celsius.
Currently, the capacity that can store more than 3 million times can be increased several times according to demand.
Meanwhile, American logistics giant FedEx is also developing a small sensor for temperature control.
It means that once every two seconds, it communicates with 300,000 communication devices in the transportation process such as in warehouses and trucks, and can confirm accurate location information so that valuable medical supplies are not stolen.
"We need a carefully controlled environment, whether by train, by plane, or by sea. The scale of distribution of the new coronavirus vaccine is huge," said Thunder Boyson, a research professor at the University of Maryland who is familiar with supply chain challenges in the medical field. So, we need an unprecedented public-private partnership. ”He said that it is essential to strengthen the cooperation system by utilizing the know-how of private companies.
What is FedEx Tracking Service?
The baggage tracking service introduced by American logistics giant FedEx last month uses a small sensor that measures approximately 5 cm in length, 2 cm in width, and weighs 7 grams.
The aim is to prevent the loss of valuable medical supplies such as the new coronavirus vaccine, or the damage caused by being exposed to high temperatures during delivery and becoming unusable, and a communication function called Bluetooth is used.
When this sensor is attached to a luggage box, it communicates with the distribution company's warehouses, aircraft, and 300,000 communication devices in the process of transportation, such as trucks, once every two seconds.
Since the position information of the package can be accurately grasped with an error of about 1 meter, it is possible to flexibly respond even if a sudden change occurs during transportation.
For example, medical supplies on the way from an airport warehouse to a hospital by truck.
Suppose you suddenly need to deliver it to another location.
If you know exactly where your luggage is now, you can also deliver the goods by the shortest route, such as reloading the luggage to another truck running nearby.
The sensor is currently specialized for location-based functions, but the company is expected to improve it over the next year or so to track information such as luggage temperature, humidity, and light transmission. is.
UPS freezing facility
This is a freezing facility newly established in southern Kentucky by the American logistics giant "UPS".
The company said it chose Kentucky as the best location for the efficient delivery of the new coronavirus vaccine across the United States.
In the middle of this month, 70 freezers that can store the new coronavirus vaccine at -80 degrees were brought in.
It is possible to store 48,000 vaccines per freezer.
After turning on the power of the installed freezer, leave it for a certain period of time, and then check one by one to see if the temperature drops to -80 degrees.
According to the company, it is possible to increase the number of installed units up to several hundreds according to the future demand for the new coronavirus vaccine virus.
Needs management at a lower temperature than general vaccines
Among the new corona vaccines under development, the type of vaccine called "mRNA vaccine" requires management at a lower temperature than general vaccines for storage and transportation.
These vaccines contain artificially made, perishable ingredients that can be ineffective if temperature is not properly controlled.
According to the data presented at the US CDC = Disease Control Center Vaccine Conference, the vaccine being developed by American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer with Germany's Biontech is -60 to 80 degrees Celsius, and the vaccine being developed by American Moderna is It means that it can be stored for 6 months by managing it at about -20 degrees.
Both companies say that these temperatures and shelf life may change as development progresses.
In addition, the vaccines being developed by American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson use viruses modified to be harmless to humans, but these vaccines are used at -20 degrees for 2 years and 2 to 8 degrees. It means that it can be stored for 3 months.
Meanwhile, the vaccine being developed by British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca with Oxford University is said to need to be refrigerated.
In addition, according to the data of the CDC meeting, after being transported under low temperature control and transported to the medical institution where the vaccine is actually inoculated, in the case of Pfizer vaccine, it can be stored for about 1 day if it is 2 to 8 degrees Celsius. In addition, Moderna's vaccine can be stored at normal freezer temperatures for about 10 days.
Expert "Japan also needs environmental improvement"
The vaccine being developed by Pfizer in the United States has basically agreed that Japan will also receive a supply for 60 million people.
Regarding this, Nobuhiko Okabe, director of the Kawasaki City Institute of Health and Safety, who is a member of the government subcommittee considering measures against the new coronavirus, asked about how low the temperature is required for vaccine transportation and the storage period that can be achieved by it. He said that the data was not clear yet, and said, "We need to consider the handling of vaccines in Japan as well. If
we do not freeze it at -80 degrees, we will put unstable vaccines in ordinary refrigerators. The vaccine becomes like water and is completely ineffective. "
On top of that, in order to effectively use the completed vaccine, "it is necessary to properly verify how strict temperature control is necessary before using it, and not only the vaccine itself but also the surrounding environmental conditions will be improved together. "It is necessary," he said, recognizing that the safety and effectiveness of vaccines as well as temperature control during transportation and storage should be considered.
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare "Cold storage of vaccines is an issue to be examined"
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said, "It is unlikely that there are a large number of facilities in Japan that can store vaccines at low temperatures," he said. "How to store and manage vaccines is widely inoculated. This is one of the issues that needs to be considered in order to proceed. "