A Vaccine’s Journey: Bridging Healing Across Continents

World’s First Vaccine

Edward Jenner was born in Berkeley, England, about three centuries ago amidst a grave health crisis, during which a highly contagious and fatal disease known as "smallpox" plagued the populace, killing nearly 45,000 people annually in the United Kingdom alone. Upon returning to his hometown, Jenner, who had dedicated himself to studying anatomy and medicine from 12 years old, discovered cowpox, a disease exhibiting symptoms of striking resemblances to smallpox. After devoting nearly 20 years to thorough observation and meticulous analysis, he daringly proposed that "inoculating humans with cowpox pus could potentially give them the ability to fight smallpox."

In 1796, Jenner used a clean knife to create multiple minor incisions on the arm of a young boy and administered drops of cowpox pus onto these wounds, thereby pioneering what is now recognized as the first vaccine for humans. The boy had successfully recovered from the mild symptoms of cowpox and avoided any subsequent infection with the smallpox virus. Through his research, Jenner successfully demonstrated the correlation between cowpox and immunity against smallpox, and as a result, he was honoured as the Father of Immunology.

Cold Chain Transportation of Vaccines

Over the past two centuries since the discovery of vaccines, significant technological advancements have fueled the development of a wide array of vaccine types. Consequently, the vaccine transportation industry has emerged to cater to the rising vaccine demand. The vaccine cold-chain transportation sector presents huge business prospects from the initial production stages to the final inoculation process. Available statistics show that the successful development of the COVID-19 vaccine has resulted in a significant surge in the cold chain transportation market; the growth rate this market experienced surpassed 7.2 times its previous value, and the potential market space for this industry is in the range of of of tens of billions of dollars. According to industry insiders, the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine will usher in a favourable period of transformation and advancement for the entire pharmaceutical cold chain industry.

However, the effectiveness of vaccines can be compromised by various factors, including high temperature, freezing conditions, and prolonged exposure to light. Therefore, they must be stored, transported, and used within specific temperature conditions to maintain the integrity of vaccines throughout the transportation process. In other words, an uninterrupted cold chain must be ensured from the manufacturers to the vaccination units, with real-time monitoring. It is, therefore, essential to formulate a transportation plan in advance for whole-chain vaccine safety.

Storage of Vaccines

It is crucial to store vaccines in a controlled environment to maintain their effectiveness, as they are biological products requiring specific temperature conditions. Strict adherence to storage standards for different vaccines is also crucial within laboratory settings and vaccination units. The storage conditions for vaccines vary depending on their respective characteristics and manufacturing processes. Inactivated, viral vector and recombinant protein vaccines are typically stored under temperatures between 2°C and 8°C, while live attenuated vaccines are stored below -20°C. Meanwhile, mRNA vaccines, which are the third generation of vaccines following inactivated, live attenuated, and viral vector vaccines, exhibit comparatively lower stability compared to other vaccine types. For example, Pfizer's vaccine requires storage at ultra-low temperatures, ranging from -80°C to -60°C, and remains stable for only 2 hours after thawing at room temperature, and Moderna's Spikevax vaccine, while relatively more stable, still requires storage within a -20°C environment.

The World Health Organization predicts that on a global scale, about 50% of vaccines are wasted every year, primarily due to the inadequate availability of temperature control systems and equipment facilities. The pharmaceutical cold chain transportation sector holds a prominent position within the cold chain industry market, and in particular, the vaccine transportation within the cold chain has high and stringent requirements to maintain optimal conditions throughout the process. According to Air Cargo International, a logistics expert, "Temperature will be one of the biggest challenges in transportation."

How To Ensure Vaccine Safety?

So, how can we ensure the safety of vaccines during transportation and storage? To address this concern, Haier Biomedical has offered a comprehensive range of vaccine cold chain solutions, which not only encompass products that cater to all temperature requirements but also include advanced vaccine stockpile monitoring solutions, allowing for 24-hour temperature monitoring and automatic alarms for any irregularities, thereby maximizing vaccine safety.

First, transportation and storage products should be equipped with cutting-edge international advanced RFID technology. This wireless communication technology enables the identification of targets through non-contact data communication between the reader and the tag. Through this technology, users can monitor the temperature of vaccines in real-time and obtain accurate vaccine inventory information. It also optimizes the procurement process, effectively addressing the issue of stock build-up and vaccine shortages. For example, the Haier Biomedical HYC-390R RFID refrigerator, equipped with complete process automation and intelligent control features, can automatically detect and monitor vaccine information and access status in real-time, ensuring that all vaccines administered to patients are systematically managed. At the same time, the intelligent process control system improves the efficiency and reliability of vaccine management, enables the monitoring of expiration dates and facilitates automatic inventory counting, thereby reducing the need for manual labour and minimizing the risk of management errors.

In addition, low-temperature storage and IoT technology should be incorporated throughout the vaccine storage process. The equipment should be equipped with an IoT monitoring module and an intelligent IoT sample management system that enables it to perform real-time monitoring and alarm functions for both the temperature inside the box and the operation status of the equipment, thereby ensuring vaccine safety around the clock. In June of this year, a janitor employed at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute turned off an ultra-low-temperature refrigerator, an action prompted by a malfunctioning alarm system, which ultimately led to the irreparable loss of 25 years' worth of research and a financial setback of up to USD 1 million. This incident further highlights the necessity of 24-hour monitoring and excellent heat preservation capabilities for refrigerators used to store biological samples. The Haier Biomedical Ultra-Low Temperature Refrigerator has an impressive heat preservation time of more than 60 hours after power failure, equipping the refrigerator to effectively handle various emergencies.

Meanwhile, by incorporating a display module, an information storage and processing module, and a BIMS system on the equipment, the Haier Biomedical Ultra-low Temperature Refrigerator can accurately identify and record the location where vaccines are stored based on their respective labels, a feat made possible by using a scanning system. This allows users' one-click synchronization and seamless access to vaccines, significantly reducing the time investment required for their work. In addition, RFID technology employed during vaccine storage can play a crucial role in accurately controlling the storage and usage of vaccines, thereby safeguarding vaccine counts and vaccine safety and ensuring that patients receive properly managed vaccines.

For economically disadvantaged and energy-deficient regions, Haier Biomedical focuses on research and development in solar-powered products and innovates zero-carbon technology for developing solar vaccine refrigerators. At the same time, to mitigate the impact of equipment operation interruptions or failures in regions with limited energy resources, the company offers a range of solutions, such as the RTMD series that enables remote monitoring and control of high and low temperatures, door opening and closing, automatic logging and detection, real-time alarms, and intelligent management, and the DATA LOGGER temperature logger pen that records equipment temperature in real-time and promptly alerts users to any abnormal temperature fluctuations to ensure vaccine safety in all aspects. The company has also introduced a customized service system, aiming to enhance its products and cater to the specific requirements of its clients, which is expected to improve the convenience and universality of its products within the local region.

Over the centuries, vaccines have transcended the boundaries of time and space, making remarkable contributions to safeguarding the lives and health of people worldwide. Haier Biomedical has also made breakthroughs, successfully overcoming one challenge after another while swiftly expanding its industrial deployment, consistently introducing innovative and forward-looking products, and continuously improving its vaccine cold chain solutions. These efforts have significantly contributed Haier Biomedical's knowledge and expertise to establishing a global leading medical and healthcare ecosystem.