Vaccine Supply Chain
Critical challenges of the vaccine supply chain due to the COVID-19 pandemic had to do with cold storage, transportation, global distribution, and regulatory hurdles (Crommelin et al., 2021). Moderna and Pfizer both faced these challenges in scaling up and distributing their vaccines. This paper describes and discusses a few of them.
First, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines required ultra-cold storage. Pfizer vaccine needed to be stored at about -70C (-94F), while Moderna's required -20C (-4F). These temperature conditions necessitated the use of specialized freezers and storage solutions. Since such infrastructure was not widely available, particularly in low-resource settings, it made distribution in some parts of the world very difficult (Crommelin et al., 2021).
This cold chain, however, had to be maintained throughout transportation. This meant using specialized containers filled with dry ice and equipped with real-time temperature monitoring. The transportation process had to be resilient enough to account for potential disruptions, too (Olutuase et al., 2022).
The global demand for COVID-19 vaccines was also immense, and this meant that both companies had to scale up production rapidly. There was thus an overwhelming demand for specific raw materials, such as the lipids used in the mRNA vaccine formulation, which actually faced potential shortages,...
…only a handful of suppliers existed globally. This limited supplier base posed a risk: any disruption or setback with even one supplier could have cascading effects on the entire production process.Thus, addressing the many different challenges was not easy. Pfizer and Moderna had to work closely with governments to manage it all and ensure global coordination at a truly international level. Governments, international organizations, the private sector, and civil society all acted as stakeholders, coming together to support the production and distribution of vaccines. This overall collective experience represented the critical support that both Pfizer and Moderna received and without which neither…
References
Crommelin, D. J., Anchordoquy, T. J., Volkin, D. B., Jiskoot, W., & Mastrobattista, E. (2021).
Addressing the cold reality of mRNA vaccine stability. Journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 110(3), 997-1001.
Olutuase, V. O., Iwu-Jaja, C. J., Akuoko, C. P., Adewuyi, E. O., & Khanal, V. (2022). Medicinesand vaccines supply chains challenges in Nigeria: a scoping review. BMC Public Health, 22, 1-15.
V. ANALYSIS The work of Maxwell McCombs entitled: "The Agenda-Setting Function of the Press" relates the fact that the press plays a primary role in the life of the public and influences the focus of attention of individuals and makes provision of the "facts and opinions that shape perspectives on topics of the day." (2005) McCombs explains that 'agenda-setting' of the press works to influence the issues in the news and
The Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (http://www.adarc.org/frame.asp?var=about_HIV") provides information on the five stages of HIV infection, namely: Entry, Reverse Transcription, Integration, Translation, and Exit. The first stage of the Entry of the HIV virion into the host cell known as the T-cell is triggered by the binding of membrane proteins of the virus into the receptors on the T-cell surface. The T-cell is a lymphocyte or white blood cell found
Vaccine and Austism Parents have every right to be concerned about their child's health and well- being and for this reason; it's not very hard to fathom why they got seriously worried over an important research study that established a link between MMR vaccine and autism. The research was not ordinary. It was published in one of the most prestigious medical journals of Britain, The Lancet, and was written by a
They receive waivers for them to go to school, or they home school them so they are not bound by the school district's guidelines. They find doctors who support a lack of vaccination, or they work with more holistic medical practitioners. There are a number of ways a parent can avoid vaccinating his or her children, since the vaccination schedule created by the CDC cannot be legally forced upon
BARDA also manages the Public Health Emergency Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE). Such an approach might in itself be justified as a way of streamlining the process and making the whole more efficient, but the concerns about liability create an administrative view that protects the process and the companies and bureaucrats involved but makes protection of the public oddly secondary. One analyst notes that the effect would be to "undermine the
Most pediatricians today hold that the manner in which the vaccine is administered is the key; while other specialists and experts maintain that it is the preservative (thimersol) in the vaccines, and still others contend that it is the vaccines themselves (Schulman, Daniel, 2005). The prevailing philosophy that governs the continued use of these vaccinations in lieu of the evidence supporting the fact that they cause neurological and other permanent
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now