COVID-19 Vaccine Race Turns Deep Freezers into a Hot Commodity

A COVID-19 vaccine stored at ultracold temperatures would stress the supply chain because of the demands required for transportation and storage, said Chaun Powell, who leads disaster preparedness and response at Premier Inc., a major group-purchaser for U.S. hospitals, physician clinics and other places.

“When you think about getting this out to 300 million American adults, every logistical efficiency you can garner is going to help us with that," he said. “It’s really about trying to figure out, how are we going to get it to those people…within an hour of their home?"

Vaccines are viewed by health and industry officials as key to stopping the spread of the new coronavirus that causes Covid-19. The most advanced are undergoing testing with clinical trials involving 30,000 people or more, and the U.S. government has begun planning for these vaccines’ potential distribution as soon as later this year.

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