Temperature control for COVID-19 vaccines in doubt after improper storage incidents around the world

Much of the concern about the COVID-19 vaccine is rightfully focused on the side effects that it causes, but there is another aspect that even those who buy Big Pharma’s lies about the safety of the vaccine should be concerned about: improper storage.

A total of 144,400 doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine were recently delayed following the discovery that some vaccines were not kept at a stable temperature during transit. The 421 shipments containing the vaccines were bound for Texas.

After five shipments with 4,300 doses were found to have gone outside of their required temperature range, U.S. officials held back the additional deliveries because of concerns about a problem with their temperature sensors.  The Moderna vaccines must be kept frozen throughout shipment and storage. The lower temperatures make the vaccines more stable by slowing the chemical reactions that would normally cause enzymes to break down the vaccine.

Texas Department of State Health Services Spokeswoman Lara Anton said that the shipment delay contributed to the appearance that Texas had only administered a small portion of the doses of the vaccine that had been allocated to the state, but another hospital association official said that the state’s numbers did not reflect the delay.

Instead, Texas Hospital Association Vice President of Advocacy, Quality and Public Health Carrie Kroll is attributing the problem to issues with hospital data systems used to track immunizations. She said that some shots are not being properly logged into the central system despite being administered, and these discrepancies must be resolved on a case-by-case basis.

She added: “It’ll look like there’s vaccine sitting on the shelf when it’s actually been administered.”

Problems with vaccine temperature control around the world

Last month, U.S. military officials said that several trays of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine had to be replaced for the opposite problem: being stored at temperatures that were excessively cold. Pfizer’s vaccine must be kept significantly colder than others, posing new logistical challenges to health systems. It must be kept around 50 degrees Celsius — colder than any other type of vaccine that is currently in use, whereas Moderna’s vaccine can be kept in typical pharmacy freezers.

General Gustave F. Pernam who is running Operation Warp Speed, said: “We had two trays of Pfizer vaccine that arrived in California in two separate places and as we were tracking the temperature, we noted that the temperature actually got colder than minus 80. [It] went to minus 92.”

The trays were reportedly locked down and returned immediately to Pfizer, who replaced them. However, the same issue occurred in Alabama, where two trays were received in one location at a temperature of -92 degrees.

There were also delays of the Pfizer vaccine in Europe on account of temperature control issues. Eight countries experienced delays following logistical problems surrounding the doses’ temperature, Spanish authorities said.

It’s a problem that may not go away any time soon as dry ice shortages are already being reported and several dry ice producers have had offers for their full output.

The truth is that even if the vaccine were proven fully safe – something that clearly cannot be done until significant time has passed – big questions would remain over its efficacy as there is no way to be certain each vaccine was kept at the proper temperatures for preservation throughout each step it took from production to the doctor’s office.

The more links in the supply chain, of course, the more chances for the temperature of the vaccines to be compromised. With questions about both its safety and its efficacy, it’s no wonder that many Americans are completely unwilling to take a chance on this vaccine.

Sources for this article include:

Bloomberg.com

TheHill.com

ABC7Chicago.com