The Challenges You Never Heard About Covid 19 Vaccine

The Challenges You Never Heard About Covid 19 Vaccine
Get to know some of the biggest challenges which are right now in front of the
medical industry in immunizing billions of people against COVID 19.
The race for developing a COVID 19 vaccine began as soon as the novel
coronavirus’s genetic makeup got revealed in January. Two companies, viz. Pfizer
and partner BioNTech have announced that their vaccines appear safe and are
about 95% effective. As the United Kingdom is closer to giving full approval of the
vaccines, more and more countries are expected to follow suit.
But another race of a higher level might have just begun. One should know that
vaccines won’t be successful until enough people are vaccinated to prevent further
spreading of the virus. It precisely creates a situation of a logistical nightmare.
This article will see some of the most challenging aspects of administering the
COVID 19 vaccine to billions of people on earth. This short read will help you to
understand the sheer magnitude and intensity of this unprecedented task ahead. So
let us get started,
Challenge # 1 - Managing the Last Mile
You might have come across the news that most COVID 19 vaccines in
development require two doses for having a full effect in people. It means there will
be a need for roughly 15 billion doses globally. If one were to imagine the technical
and logistical challenges for getting this much quantity of vaccines to the nook and
corner of the world, the idea would be clear.
Pfizer vaccine, the first thoroughly tested vaccine to get permission for emergency
use, must be kept frozen at -70 °C. It is mind-boggling to think of other vaccines,
which are very stable, even when stored at temperatures ranging between -20°C to
-30°C. Another COVID 19 vaccine, called Moderna, also needs to be kept around
the same temperature as Pfizer’s. Both Pfizer and Modern vaccines require an ultra-
low temperature freezer, a refrigerator capable of storing contents up to -80°C.
Coming to the logistics part, it is a fact that there isn’t a massive supply of
refrigerator and freezer trucks, planes, and tracks that can transport such chilly
goods. Due to the urgency, air freights will be needed at least for longer distances.
It is also estimated that over the next two years, approximately 15000 flights and
nearly 15 million cooling boxes would be needed for the final distribution.
Challenge # 2 - Keeping the Vaccines Cold at All Times
Pfizer has designed special shipping containers, known as pizza boxes (as they
resemble the food delivery container), which can be recharged with dry ice to keep
the company vaccine cold in transit for short term storage. But the problem is that
this recharge won’t last long. So providers shall need to find local sources of dry ice,
which may be highly difficult as far as rural areas are concerned.
Yet, dry ice is highly prone to sublimation and can also turn directly into carbon
dioxide gas. The fumes can build up and suffocate people if there’s not enough
ventilation, which could make transporting and storing vaccines cooled with dry ice a
vast problem.
Challenge # 3 - The Dilemma Regarding Dosage
If you were to talk about the United States, each of the states isn't sure how many
vaccines they will get from the federal government. It makes it hard to calculate how
many doses the state will bring in total for health care workers and people in long-
term care homes, who will be the first ones to get the vaccines. Plus, the two-dose
requirement for most COVID-19 vaccines adds to the supply problems as well.
Moreover, it would be against doctors' moral and ethical obligation if they fail to
provide a second dose after initially vaccinating them.
One must also know that both doses of the vaccine need to be from the same
company, and keeping track of who got vaccinated and which vaccine they got also
pose a significant challenge. Also, the existing database may need to be beefed up
heavily to manage billions of patient data and keep it well-integrated.
Challenge # 4 - Logistical Nightmare
Last but not least, it isn't the vaccines that need to be rolled out smoothly. Suppliers
of glass vials that store the vaccines have to make sure they have enough surgical-
grade sand to manufacture the vials. Nurses who are administering the vaccine
shots also need alcohol wipes, needles, syringes, masks, and gloves, some of which
are short in supply in many places.
One must remember that even if the medical industry gets the best logistics, all of it
would be futile if common people fail to take measures like universal mask wearing
and social distancing. Ultimately, these measures shall only help slow the spread of
the virus.
If the rate of virus transmission is higher, even the highly effective vaccine will
struggle to make a dent in this pandemic's trajectory.
Conclusion
You have just seen a few of the biggest challenges in front of the medical industry in
immunizing the whole world against COVID 19. From this article, it would be clear
that there is a need to bring trust and transparency for the effective management of
all the health care essentials. Hopefully, the supply chain partners and all the
government bodies will overcome all the obstacles in improving the services during
this pandemic.

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The Challenges You Never Heard About Covid 19 Vaccine

Challenge # 1 - Managing the Last Mile

Challenge # 2 - Keeping the Vaccines Cold at All Times

Challenge # 3 - The Dilemma Regarding Dosage

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