According to a Reuters report, Getting a coronavirus vaccine from manufacturing sites to some parts of the world with rural populations and unreliable electricity supply will be an immense challenge, given the need to store some vials at temperatures as low as minus 80 degrees Celsius (-112 Fahrenheit), Deutsche Post warned on Tuesday.
Antarctic Level Refrigeration Needed
The German logistics firm said that the distribution of an eventual vaccine across large parts of Africa, South America, and Asia would require extraordinary measures to keep deliveries of so-called mRNA vaccines refrigerated at Antarctic-level temperatures.
Companies developing vaccines requiring exceptional cold storage, such as Moderna and CureVac, are working hard to make their injections last longer in transit.
Cold Storage Infrastructure Upgradation
But upgrading cold storage infrastructure in regions outside the 25 most advanced countries, home to one-third of the global population, will pose an immense challenge, said Deutsche Post in its study, conducted with consultancy firm McKinsey.
Less Extreme Temperature Testing
Vaccine developers Translate Bio and Moderna said in June they are working to produce evidence in time for the rollout that their respective products can be shipped and stored at less extreme temperatures.
Deutsche Post said that even if the vaccine cold chain requires temperatures of only minus 8 degrees Celsius the share of the world’s population with reliable access to it increases only to about 70%, with substantial parts of Africa at risk of missing out.
“We anticipate 10 billion vaccine doses will have to be distributed across the world, and that includes regions that don’t have motorway access every five miles,” Katja Busch, Chief Commercial Officer of Deutsche Post’s DHL global forwarding unit, told Reuters.
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Source: Reuters
