Cold Chain Solutions to Meet Demand for Mass Vaccination by GPs

GPs have been asked to mass vaccinate the elderly from December.  The most likely vaccine  available, at least initially, will be the Pfzer candidate which was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants without evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first interim efficacy analysis.1

As reported by the BBC, one of the potential issues with the Pfizer vaccine is that it needs to be stored at -80°C to maintain its effectiveness throughout cold chain and once transferred to a normal fridge within a GP surgery, it will last for up to 5 days2.

In general, GP surgeries do not use ultra low temperature (ULT )freezers.

"We do not have fridges in general practice that go down to that sort of temperature," GP professor Sam Everington told the BBC's Newsnight programme on Monday. "So we will need them."3

The model DW-86L100J is a small ULT freezer which is perfect for GP applications, it has the capacity to store around 23,000* doses of the vaccine and can fit on or under a counter.

*Based in 24 cryo-boxes, 195 vials per box, each vial contains 5 doses.

DW-86L100J

NHS Scotland have already implemented some vaccine freezer storage in preparation for the up and coming COVID-19 vaccination programme. A number of ULT freezers have been installed at key sites across Scotland as the organisation gears up to potentially roll out a vaccine.

It is expected the other vaccine candidates, such as the one developed by Astra Zeneca and Oxford University, will be suitable for storage  within a standard vaccine refrigerator at between +2 to +8°C.

Cold chain logistics is another aspect to this problem, maintaining temperature during transportation. Passive and active cooler transport boxes are used to move refrigerated and frozen products from door to door.

Haier Biomedical transport coolers

Life-time monitoring of vaccine is equally important in ensuring potency and efficacy of vaccines. Haier Biomedical already supporting a number of Hospitals and Medical Logistics Providers, delivering an MHRA compliant Remote Temperature Monitoring Solutions, leveraging the power of IoT.

Haier Biomedical has been actively involved with and responding to the requirements of  NHS Supply Chain and NHS Scotland, working on projects for the provision of cold chain storage for future vaccination programmes.  It is an NHS Supply Chain approved supplier and products can be ordered via the NHS Pathology Framework – Category 5 | Laboratory Equipment and Temperature Monitoring

About Haier Biomedical Vaccine Solutions

Haier Biomedical is major player with cold chain technologies and have a wealth of experience manufacturing and delivering ultra-low temperature solutions within healthcare and life science sectors. It is a specialist in vaccine storage and is an approved WHO and UNICEF provider.

Haier Biomedical’s big data IoT based biomedical manufacturing facility at present has a total manufacturing capability coverage of 50,000m2 across two floors and an annual production capacity of over 200,000 units. â€‹One production line can produce 4,000 vaccine refrigerators per month.