As pharmaceutical corporations race to expand vaccines, it’s clear that some of the top applicants will want to stay at temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees Celsius, a point similar to the lower temperatures at the South Pole. Temperature delivery is known as an mRNA or messenger RNA-based vaccine and is a revolutionary new technique for stimulating antibody production.
German logistics company Deutsche Post DHL Group published a white paper this fall highlighting the difficulty of ensuring robust supply chains that meet the strict temperature requirements for those vaccines. It is estimated that 15,000 flights and 15 million coolers would be needed to send the necessary vaccines. for the next two years.
In Japan, the government has reached an agreement with U. S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to obtain 120 million doses of an mRNA coronavirus vaccine, if it proves effective. Japan’s Daiichi-Sankyo will also expand an mRNA product in collaboration with the University of Tokyo. .
But the logistics industry likely would not be able to deliver the mandatory number of doses to Japan’s 120 million people. Experts say vaccine deliveries at such low temperatures are very rare, reaching at most thousands, not tens of millions.
Most likely, the country will face a logistics crisis, to which will be added the lack of refrigerators, pallet carriers, warehouses, and strict temperature conditions for the assembly of last-mile deliveries. Private carriers and workshop corporations are making large investments in medical supply chains due to the pandemic, but many say delivery at ultra-low temperatures is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, due to their lack of experience.
Advance planning and data sharing between government and the personal sector will be key to avoiding a logistical crisis when a COVID-19 vaccine arrives. The progression of a vaccine – and the preparation of source chains for delivery – will have to be explored in Japan and the rest of the world.