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IN BRIEF: ACTIVE AIR TRANSPORT CONTAINERS FOR INCREASED VACCINE DISTRIBUTION

10 November 2020

The cold chain is gearing up, using active air freight containers, to meet the expected increased shipping needs of the healthcare and aviation industries when a COVID-19 vaccine is approved. Typically (according to RTOC -see note), active air freight containers use non-flammable HFC-134a in a battery-powered vapor compression cycle, with fully redundant electric heating and compressor cooling systems and an insulated container shell. The cooling capacity as well as the refrigerant charge is low. The containers can be operated on the ground, using an electrical connection that also charges the batteries. They maintain product temperatures in the +2 to +8 °C range, controlled room temperature (+15 to +25 °C) range or at any chosen set temperature between ±0 and +25 °C.

The challenge for the pharmaceutical market is to distribute the vaccine to patients as fast as possible while maintaining the integrity of the cold chain. Transporting healthcare products by air demands a rigorous logistical approach. If mishandled, the intactness of these products can be compromised by temperature changes during transportation.

Storage and transportation of COVID-19 vaccines: The recent announcement about a vaccine requiring storage at -80°C clearly requires a different approach to maintain the vaccine. There are a range of vaccines that require different storage and transport temperatures. A recent article in Euractive explains this in more detail- see https://www.euractiv.com/section/coronavirus/opinion/the-biggest-challenge-for-covid-19-vaccines-is-the-cold-supply-chain/

Note: from 2014 TOC Refrigeration, A/C and Heat Pumps (RTOC) Assessment Report page 133 available at https://ozone.unep.org/science/assessment/teap

Source https://cleanroomtechnology.com/news/article_page/Thermo_King_and_Envirotainer_collaborate_on_vaccine_transport/171009

 

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