BEVERLY, Mass., Dec. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ – Tobin Scientific and PHCbi have today announced a collaboration that is designed to address the unique transportation requirements of one of the lead COVID-19 vaccines. The solution uses Tobin trailers fitted with PHCbi's ultra-low temperature freezers to ensure that the vaccine is maintained at the correct temperature throughout transit.

Following the announcement last week that Pfizer and partner, BioNTech, had submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration for approval of their coronavirus vaccine, there have been ongoing discussions about proposed distribution models capable of sustaining the -70°C temperature required to maintain efficacy.

One of the most talked-about solutions is the use of a special cooler, or "thermal shipper," with real-time GPS and thermal monitoring that can maintain deep-freeze vaccine storage for 10 days if left unopened. While in theory this modality represents a potential distribution solution, it is one fraught with potential for failure. Dry ice is difficult to handle, limited in supply, and has an 18-24-hour half-life. Should the thermal shipper fail or be compromised, that leaves a window of 18-24 hours from point of origin, to allow for transit to the airport, departure, flight time, arrival at destination, offload, splitting of pallets, and loading to individual trucks to drive to sites administering vaccinations. Moreover, mRNA by nature, comes with its own inherent handling challenges, and the fragile thermal sensors used in this type of packaging could provide inconsistent and unreliable readings. All of this is cause for concern, before even addressing the considerable challenge posed by specialized staffing requirements to handle these shipments on the scale that would be required.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tobin-scientific-and-phcbi-collaborate-on-solution-for-regional-distribution-of-covid-19-vaccine-to-address-ultra-low-temperature-requirements-301189595.html