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Seriously… Pfizer says they have to transport and store their vaccines at -94°F (-70°C) to remain effective.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-pfizer-distribution-logistical-nightmare/
What could go wrong?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-pfizer-distribution-logistical-nightmare/
What could go wrong?
- Pfizer's shipping boxes, packed with specially formulated dry ice and containing between 1,000 and 5,000 vaccine doses each, can only be opened twice a day for less than three minutes at a time while maintaining temperature standards.
- Even so, the deep-freeze suitcases only hold their cool for 10 days. And the clock starts ticking when they are sealed, which for U.S. shipments will be at one of two Pfizer facilities, in either Kalamazoo, Michigan, or Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.
- Dry ice is considered a hazardous material and restricted on airplanes. Pfizer said its packages contain well under the acceptable limit. But given the logistical challenges, Premier's Saha told CBS MoneyWatch that it could take up to four days for the vaccines to reach their destination. That gives many hospitals and pharmacies as few as just six days to administer up to 5,000 doses before they go bad, or as many as 833 a day. The vaccinations can be moved to a typical refrigerator, but for only five days.
- Pfizer's shipping container can be refilled with dry ice. But it likely will have to be in pellets not blocks, and a refill, which could cost a few hundred dollars, will only extend the life of deep-freeze suitcase by five days.
- Hospitals can buy ultra-cold freezers, which will keep the vaccinations up to six months. But few hospitals or pharmacies have the specialty freezers, which can cost as much as $20,000 each, and are in short-supply. Manufacturer K2 told CBS MoneyWatch the wait for its ultra-cold freezers is now six weeks.
- Pfizer's vaccination requires two doses 21 days apart, making it more complicated to deliver the required number of treatments with doses going to waste.
