The vaccines are still in “usable condition.” This was the preliminary report of the team from the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund that inspected 7,500 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines. The jabs were returned to Manila from Bicol after the temperature in the storage box registered 400 degrees Celsius – way higher than the required 2 to 8 degrees. The WHO and UNICEF will conduct further tests, but for now, the Department of Health says the 7,500 doses have been found to be “still potent.”
The Bicol Center for Health Development had received the storage box with the 7,500 doses – part of 22,000 allocated to the region – on March 10. The DOH said the inspectors found that only the thermometer in the storage box was faulty while the other devices and equipment used to store and transport the vaccines from Manila “were all functional.” The DOH lauded the Bicol CHD for its “abundance of caution” and for following protocols for the vaccine rollout.
This thermometer glitch, however, highlights the importance of seamless transport and administration of COVID vaccines, especially in an archipelago of 7,100 islands where logistics can be challenging even when there is no pandemic.
The COVID vaccines have a short shelf life and must be maintained at constant cold temperatures. The AstraZeneca vaccine is less temperature-sensitive than the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, which requires between 80 to 60 degrees below zero Celsius for storage. CoronaVac of China’s Sinovac Biotech has even easier cold chain requirements.
All the vaccines, however, have temperature requirements that must be strictly followed for optimum performance. For this, only the most reliable and competent cold chain logistics providers must be enlisted by the government. The country’s recovery from the pandemic hinges on the vaccination campaign, and it cannot be compromised by faulty thermometers.
So far, the only COVID vaccines that have arrived in the country are donations from the international community. The country is now buried in debt and waiting in a long line for the arrival of vaccines that the government itself is procuring. Every vaccine dose is precious and must not go to waste.