Supply Chain

Anna Nagurney, Ph.D. (University of Massachusetts) joins the CareTalk Podcast to explain why COVID vaccines will require cold chain logistics and whether or not the US is properly equipped to supply the vaccines when they become available.

Anticipation of a covid-19 vaccine is growing. The National Academy of Medicine issued the report “Framework for Equitable Allocation of Covid-19 Vaccine,” offering guidance on vaccine allocation. The process is certain to be fraught with politics, given that equitable, safe and effective all represent critical, albeit subjective criteria to assess the vaccine allocation process and meet the requirements of the vaccine supply chain.

One of the painful discoveries of the COVID-19 pandemic was how vulnerable U.S. supply chains are, demonstrated most vividly by the shortage of critical medical supplies and equipment. Supply chain experts agree that measures must be taken to ensure the supply chain of the future becomes more resilient and can withstand another national crisis.

To bring COVID-19 under control a vaccine needs to be available to every nation, rich and poor – and it needs to happen quickly. But pharmaceutical breakthroughs are usually the result a slow process involving competition, secrecy, risky investments and extensive trials. Changing any big industry to speed its processes up is going to be difficult. But there are signs that substantial changes are underway – and they may be here to stay.

Just like a fresh piece of fish, vaccines are highly perishable products and must be kept at very cold, specific temperatures. The majority of COVID-19 vaccines under development—like the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines—are new RNA-based vaccines. If they get too warm or too cold they spoil. And, just like fish, a spoiled vaccine must be thrown away. So how do companies and public health agencies get vaccines to the people who need them?

Recently, the White House released its COVID-19 vaccine distribution strategy through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD). The two departments, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stated their plan provides a “playbook” for state and local public health programs on how to plan and operationalize a vaccination program for COVID-19.

Ultra-cold freezers are suddenly a hot commodity. One of the most advanced US coronavirus vaccines, created by Pfizer in partnership with BioNTech, has to be stored at -70° Celsius (-94° Fahrenheit), or around 30°C colder than the North Pole in winter. It’s far from certain that the vaccine will be approved for widespread distribution. But if it is, very few freezers go that cold.

Just like a fresh piece of fish, vaccines are highly perishable products and must be kept at very cold, specific temperatures. The majority of COVID-19 vaccines under development – like the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines – are new RNA-based vaccines. If they get too warm or too cold they spoil. And, just like fish, a spoiled vaccine must be thrown away. So how do companies and public health agencies get vaccines to the people who need them?

After U.S. health officials warned Americans to continue social distancing and wearing masks on Labor Day weekend, the United States may report its 190,000th death from the new coronavirus on Tuesday or Wednesday. In sports news, the American men are out at the U.S. Open after Frances Tiafoe, who had tested positive for COVID-19 in July, lost Monday to No. 4 Daniil Medvedev of Russia. The next Grand Slam event, the French Open, which begins later this month, will allow spectators, organizers announced Monday.

When the coronavirus hit, even the most enthusiastic cooks had to adjust to a new, more complicated relationship with their kitchens. For the first time in a generation, Americans began spending more money at the supermarket than at places where someone else made the food. Grocers saw eight years of projected sales growth packed into one month. Shopping trends that were in their infancy were turbocharged.