Cold chain temperature monitoring has proved vital over recent months during the global COVID-19 pandemic. With cases and testing now on the rise, it is becoming even more important to ensure test samples are shipped safely at the correct temperature.
However, cold chain monitoring is also becoming increasingly critical for developing a successful COVID-19 vaccine. Wessex Power offer vaccine temperature monitoring solutions to pharmaceutical companies across the globe. Learn more about why these solutions are essential for developing and launching this highly in demand vaccine:
Why is vaccine temperature monitoring important for the success of a COVID-19 vaccine?
Cold chain temperature monitoring is a huge contributor to the success of a COVID-19 vaccine. During the research and testing phase, monitoring storage temperature with vaccine data loggers is essential. Not only will it speed up the vaccine development process, but it will also ensure the entire process is both safe and precise. When a COVID-19 vaccine is due for release, it is of paramount importance that vaccines are transported safely. Vaccines are shipped to healthcare facilities across the world via shipping containers in trucks and planes. As vaccines often spend a long amount of time within different stages of the cold chain, a vaccine temperature monitoring system must be put in place to certify their quality.
If vaccine storage temperatures enter the danger zone, i.e. too warm or too cold, this can impact their overall quality. When a vaccine becomes damaged due to dangerous temperatures during transportation, it becomes unsafe for administration. According to the International Air Transport Association’s Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics, “a quarter of vaccines are degraded by the time they arrive at their destination due to incorrect shipping procedures”. This is why vaccine scientists and healthcare facilities rely so heavily on precise vaccine temperature monitoring systems to gain full visibility of quality control.
Reducing time, waste and cost when developing a COVID-19 vaccine
A vaccine temperature monitoring system ensures COVID-19 vaccine and research developments are both accurate and safe, however will also reduce time, wastage and cost. By certifying that vaccines are stored correctly with temperature data loggers, this reduces the amount of vaccines that become damaged. As a result, this decreases the amount of research, testing and production of more vaccines which in turn contributes to lower wastage and cost. With the visibility and reassurance that COVID-19 vaccine samples are transported safely, this should hopefully in turn help to speed up the development process.
Vaccine temperature monitoring throughout the cold chain is also important when following blood sample storage guidelines. Blood plasma samples have become a key part of identifying potential treatments and further research into the COVID-19 vaccine. Blood plasma of recovered COVID-19 positive patients contain antibodies, which can aid scientists in finding out more about how the virus affects the human body. Blood storage temperature must be continually monitored so samples do not become compromised or damaged.
For further information about our cold chain and vaccine monitoring solutions or to enquire, get in touch with our friendly team at Wessex Power. Call us on 01929 459459 or email sales@wpls.co.uk.