Delivering
super-cooled COVID-19 vaccine a daunting challenge for
some countries
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[September 01, 2020]
By Matthias Inverardi and Ludwig Burger
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Getting a coronavirus
vaccine from manufacturing sites to some parts of the world with rural
populations and unreliable electricity supply will be an immense
challenge, given the need to store some vials at temperatures as low as
minus 80 degrees Celsius (-112 Fahrenheit), Deutsche Post <DPWGn.DE>
warned on Tuesday.
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The German logistics firm said that distribution of an eventual
vaccine across large parts of Africa, South America and Asia would
require extraordinary measures to keep deliveries of so-called mRNA
vaccines refrigerated at Antarctic-level temperatures.
Companies developing vaccines requiring exceptional cold storage,
such as Moderna <MRNA.O> and CureVac <CVAC.O>, are working hard to
make their injections last longer in transit.
The novel class of mRNA vaccines is among the furthest advanced in a
field of 33 immunisation shots currently being tested on humans
globally, but they may need to be cooled at minus 80 degrees
Celsius.
But upgrading cold storage infrastructure in regions outside the 25
most advanced countries, home to one third of the global population,
will pose an immense challenge, said Deutsche Post in its study,
conducted with consultancy firm McKinsey.
Vaccine developers Translate Bio <TBIO.O> and Moderna said in June
they are working to produce evidence in time for the rollout that
their respective products can be shipped and stored at less extreme
temperatures.
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A spokesman for CureVac said its vaccine candidate is based on an experimental
rabies vaccine which has already been shown to keep its molecular structure when
stored in a regular fridge for months. Tests are underway to show the COVID-19
product has the same durability and the company is confident the data will be
"competitive", he added.
Deutsche Post said that even if the vaccine cold chain requires temperatures of
only minus 8 degrees Celsius the share of the world’s population with reliable
access to it increases only to about 70%, with substantial parts of Africa at
risk of missing out.
"We anticipate 10 billion vaccine doses will have to be distributed across the
world, and that includes regions that don't have motorway access every five
miles," Katja Busch, Chief Commercial Officer of Deutsche Post's DHL global
forwarding unit, told Reuters.
(Additional reporting by Lisa Baertlein, editing by Louise Heavens)
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