Covid-19 Vaccine: Pfizer’s Proposal to Address Cooling Challenge in Brazil: Dry Ice

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Approved on an emergency basis in Canada and the United Kingdom, Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in partnership with the German biotechnology company BioNTech is trying to enter the Brazilian market through a commitment to sell 70 million doses to be delivered in 2021.

In order to be safely administered in the country, the immunizer needs to be stored at approximately -75ºC, an unfeasible level for Brazil’s cooling network. The solution offered by the company to ship the item safely is a transport box containing dry ice, which can hold up to 5,000 doses at a time. “The innovation is that it can be kept at the required temperature for 30 days; earlier we believed it would be for 15 days,” says Pfizer medical director, Márjorie Dulcine.

With this “shelf life” change in the transportation method, the box may contain two doses of the immunizer for 2,500 people, while respecting the required 21-day break. In case an agreement is reached, the company has committed to deliver the vaccine to the locations previously established by the Ministry of Health, which enables storage in the box only once the immunizer is included in the Brazilian network.

Operating the box requires changing the dry ice every five days, for a total of 30 days. The box is non-reusable and is collected by the company. Moreover, the vaccine’s storage in a refrigerator (with temperatures between 2 and 8ºC) is of only five days.

Related coverage: Brazil Health Regulator Sets Rules for COVID-19 Vaccine Emergency Use · Brazil Aims to Vaccinate Entire Population Against COVID-19 in 2021 · Bolsonaro Says Brazil Is Experiencing 'Tail end' of Pandemic Despite Death Surge · São Paulo Government Says Covid Contagion Higher in December Than First Peak

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