Solving Africa’s vaccine storage problem
As the world races to roll out a vaccine, equitable access will be key to eliminating Covid-19. But in Africa storage and distribution will also pose big problems.
While vaccines offer a glimmer of hope for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, many African countries lack the infrastructure to store and transport certain vaccine candidates. This could stymy the rollout of a comprehensive vaccination programme across the continent as countries struggle to solve the challenge of storage and distribution.
The African Union secured 670m shots of coronavirus vaccine in January from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca that will be distributed according to countries’ population size. Together with doses made available via the Covax scheme, an equitable vaccine distribution initiative that 40
African countries have signed up to, this brings the total for Africa to 1.27bn.
But with most countries on the continent only equipped with a cold-storage chain that can maintain standard refrigeration temperatures of -8C, the announcement sparked fears that vaccines might go to waste.
Pfizer’s candidate is an mRNA vaccine that must be transported at -70˚ Celsius (-94˚ Fahrenheit) and can only be stored in the fridges commonly available in hospitals for a maximum of five days, leading to fears that it is unsuitable for the continent.
Experts say there are ways around the continent’s lack of cold-chain distribution. Pfizer’s thermal shippers can be used as temporary storage units if they are refilled with dry ice every five days for up to 30 days of storage, says Professor Greg Hussey, a member of South Africa’s Ministerial Advisory Committee on vaccines and the director of Vaccines for Africa.
“It’s not an impossible task, it’s just laborious,” he told African Business.
Even for the AstraZenea and J&J vaccines, which can be stored at standard refrigeration temperatures, many parts of Africa will be a challenge because of gaps in the cold-storage distribution network.
One solution is solar-powered fridges. In 2018, the United Nations children’s agency, Unicef, launched an initiative with West and Central African governments and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to buy and install solar-powered fridges in order to ensure the supply of vaccines across the region.
With its dense jungle and remote villages, West and Central Africa poses some of the most complex and challenging environments for vaccine storage and distribution, says Jean-Cedric Meeus, Unicef’s chief of supply for the region.
“We mapped where the necessary equipment was missing and then set about installing almost 20,000 solar-powered fridges, all the way from the coast to the forests in the interior. It is a huge asset to have countries equipped like this and we will continue to roll them out,” he says.
The fridges can store vaccines at 2-8°C, and will help bridge the gap in supplying remote destinations.
Unicef is also working with global airlines and freight providers to procure and deliver vaccines from manufacturers that have agreements with Covax. Discussions are underway between Unicef, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and 350 logistics partners to dispatch almost 2bn doses of Covid-19 vaccines in 2021, Unicef says.
Covax hopes to immunise up to 20% of the population of participating countries, but could theoretically be extended to cover 50% of the population, says Professor Hussey, depending on supply from manufacturers. ■
Pfizer’s candidate is an mRNA vaccine that must be transported at -70˚ Celsius (-94˚ Fahrenheit)