Since the beginning of the pandemic, the manufacturing and distribution of vaccines has been one of the most important areas of public health all over the world. Being able to develop a working vaccine is an incredibly difficult process. But then being able to transport and deploy it all over the globe is arguably even more difficult. The rise of vaccine cold chain management has been paramount to the successful rollout of vaccines globally. Read on to find out how cold chain monitoring is being used to help the successful rollout of vaccines.

Why do vaccines need cold storage?

As COVID-19 vaccines shipments started making their way around the world, demand for dry ice and ultracold storage spiked. The storage requirements for the Pfizer vaccine are around -70 degrees Celsius. The Moderna vaccine must read temperatures of between -25 to -10 degrees Celsius on any cold chain data logger. These vaccines must remain at extremely low temperatures because at regular temperatures they become unstable. Which can negatively impact the effectiveness of successfully vaccinating a whole population. Therefore, we have seen a rise in vaccine cold chain management solutions.

A cold chain is simply a temperature-controlled supply chain that aims to maintain the quality and efficiency of a vaccine from the production stage until the patient receives their dose. Creating a successful cold chain is more difficult than it sounds. Vaccines must move from storage sites to shipyards, travel long distances on lorries and supertankers. It’s then distributed across a whole country which in some cases has limited resources and infrastructure. All this travelling must happen while keeping the vaccines at a temperature colder than an arctic winter. This is only possible by using cold storage technology like dry ice and fridges coupled with cold chain monitoring and management solutions.

What is cold chain monitoring?

While the use of cold storage solves one part of the problem. Being able to monitor and report on live temperature data of vaccines is also crucial to delivering a successful cold chain. A cold chain data logger can operate in a vaccine fridge either in storage or during transportation. This gives vaccine cold chain management systems an accurate overview of how their cold chain is performing. Cold chain monitoring can safeguard against temperature breaches in shipping or storage that would destabilise a vaccine and potentially cause ineffective doses going out into the public.

Without vaccine monitoring, it can lead to an increase in production costs and wastage due to cold chain defects. Cold chain monitoring can flag potential problems instantly and therefore mitigate potential risks to the cold chain or vaccines. Cold chain data loggers feature real-time data collection that will keep vaccine shipments compliant with WHO regulations.

For more information about vaccine cold chain management solutions and high-performance cold chain data loggers get in contact with us at Wessex Power. Call us on 01929 459459 or email us on sales@wpls.co.uk to discuss your project in more detail.