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Original title: Research and development of Pfizer isothermal boxes to solve the problem of transporting the new corona vaccine
In the last period of time, although good news has often appeared in the newspapers about the development of the new corona vaccine, behind the news there are always some hidden concerns looming, such as vaccine storage and transport, especially storage at long-term Pfizer vaccine, which is doing well, takes less than 70 ℃. The demand for this is even more concerning. Fortunately, for the concerns of the market, Pfizer has given its answer: develop a special isothermal box, so that the vaccine does not require refrigerated trucks or airplanes and can only be completed with normal transport.
The actual 90% rate of Pfizer’s new corona vaccine has not been able to excite the market for long, and practical transportation and distribution problems have poured cold water. In response, Pfizer CEO Albert Burla said in an interview with US health news website StatNews on November 17 that Pfizer has developed a special isothermal box.
It is understood that this type of box is informally called “pizza box”. It is equipped with a thermometer and GPS inside. It can not only track the position of the box at all times, but also track the temperature to make sure its temperature is not high. Below or below the specifications. In addition, this isothermal box can hold 1000-5000 doses of the vaccine. Once the company obtains the delivery address, the vaccine will be shipped overnight to vaccine distribution locations in the United States and other developed countries.
In a response sent to a Beijing Business Daily reporter, Pfizer also revealed that it already has detailed plans and tools to support the effective transportation, storage and continuous temperature monitoring of the vaccine. Among them, Pfizer’s specially designed heat carrier that uses dry ice to control temperature will keep the vaccine in storage at -70 ℃ ± 10 ℃ for up to 10 days and monitor the location and temperature of the vaccine transport in time. real. The vaccine is shipped to various countries or regions, so the vaccine is stored in other ways.
According to Pfizer, vaccine recipients will have three ways to store vaccines. One is to use ultra-low temperature freezers already on the market to extend the shelf life of the vaccine to 6 months. The second is that the vaccine itself can be stored for 5 days in the refrigerator at 2-8 ° C, which is also the normal temperature of a hospital refrigerator. The third is to fill Pfizer’s special shipping box with dry ice, which can store the vaccine for 15 days.
For Pfizer, solving transportation and storage problems is critical. Due to the use of the latest mRNA technology, Pfizer vaccines must be stored in a low temperature environment below minus 70 ° C, which exceeds cold chain assurance requirements under realistic conditions in many countries. Professor Toby Peters of the University of Birmingham in the UK once said that most vaccines are stored at 2-8 ° C and Pfizer’s stringent temperature requirements for new corona vaccine candidates will limit their distribution. mass.
Peters said the new corona vaccine requires deep refrigeration, which not only adds complexity to vaccine storage, transportation and distribution, but also poses challenges to existing cold chain structures in various countries. Conversely, developing countries with underdeveloped economies and countries and regions with warm climates may find it more difficult to achieve this. In some countries, 30% -40% of medical centers are not even able to meet basic nutrition and in some countries less than 10% of medical centers have refrigerators.
It is worth noting that a few days ago, after Pfizer’s actual 90% rate, Moderna also reported good news, stating that the company’s new mRNA-12733 corona vaccine candidate performed well in the interim analysis of the Phase III clinical trial and its efficacy achieved 94.5%. And Moderna’s advantage over Pfizer is not just in effectiveness. It is understood that the first vaccine can be stored for 30 days at a standard refrigeration temperature of 2-8 ° C and it is hoped that it can be stored for a long time at a standard refrigeration temperature of -20 ° C. 6 months.
This also means that Moderna’s vaccine may be better than Pfizer’s vaccine under relatively conventional conditions, and that countries using Moderna’s vaccine do not need to establish large-scale frozen production, storage and transport networks for vaccination. By comparison, conditions for Pfizer’s vaccine are pretty tough. “The Moderna vaccine is more compatible with the existing vaccine transport network. Even in remote and underdeveloped areas with no cold chain infrastructure, refrigerators can be purchased at a lower cost to ensure a low temperature environment,” Pharmaceutical Research Assistant, Warwick Business School, UK Professor Ayfer Ali said.
When the vaccination is actually rolled out, another scene is very likely to pop up – this is the next critical thinking about vaccine fever in the market. Gordon Dugan, a professor at the University of Cambridge in the UK, said that many vaccines need to be stored at temperatures of around 4 ° C or below, but Pfizer’s vaccines require storage at minus 70 ° C. “This way , you can imagine the vaccine’s transport chain. After it is shipped to the doctor, how long the vaccine can be stored at or near room temperature. “
Additionally, the U.S. newspaper Capitol Hill cited experts who said ultra-cold freezers will carry financial burdens and that Pfizer’s vaccines need to be injected twice at 21-day intervals, making it more complicated to provide the required number of vaccines and can cause Waste of dose. As for the question of whether it will carry a financial burden, Pfizer has not responded to this.
Beijing Commercial Daily reporter Yang Yuehan
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