Safe Transport of Covid-19 Vaccines in China

Qin Yuming, secretary general of the Pharmaceutical Logistics Branch of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, said in an interview that the key technical requirements in the new COVID-19 vaccine transportation include equipment preparation inspection, pre-cooling, real-time temperature monitoring, handover verification, loading plan, unloading time, etc. The difficulty lies in realizing the entire temperature control and traceability of the new COVID-19 vaccine.

In order to solve the temperature control problem, the "Guide" requires that the carrier should deploy suitable refrigerated trucks, coolers or incubators according to the characteristics of the new COVID-19 vaccine cargo and the requirements of the transportation temperature. The refrigerated truck should be equipped with 2 sets of temperature recorders, one for use and one for equipment, to record and transmit data such as temperature and location in real time. The number of temperature measuring points installed in the refrigerated truck compartment shall not be less than 2.

In addition, the refrigerated trucks transporting the new COVID-19 vaccine cargo should have dual temperature control, and the cooling and heating power should match the box. For automatic temperature monitoring equipment, the temperature measurement accuracy is required to be within±0.5℃. In addition to temperature control, the speed of transportation of the new COVID-19 vaccine and the seamless connection of all links are also crucial.

Qin Yuming said, “The supply of COVID-19 vaccine involves production, transportation, vaccination and other links, and seamless connection between all links is an ideal state. The transportation speed of COVID-19 vaccine is closely related to the coordination of upstream and downstream, and it is also related to my country's current medical cold chain transportation capacity. Related. The domestic vaccine cold chain transportation is mainly roads, supplemented by aviation. Vaccines have high requirements for the sinking depth of the transportation network, and they should have the ability to be delivered to third- and fourth-tier cities and even villages and towns."

The road transport cycle for ordinary vaccines from the manufacturer to the vaccination point is generally 2-3 days. The monthly actual operating kilometers of vehicles for the main urban distribution business are about 8,000 kilometers, and the monthly actual operating kilometers of vehicles for the main trunk business are about 15,000 kilometers.

In order to ensure the delivery time of the new COVID-19 vaccine, the "Guide" clarifies that during the transportation operation of the new COVID-19 vaccine, they should be transported to the destination safely and on time. Except for the necessary loading and unloading, the carriage should not be opened on the way, and it should not be for a long time. Stay. Keep the vehicle running as smoothly as possible to reduce ups and downs and vibrations. The driver shall not drive more than 4 hours continuously.

Local traffic management departments should also establish green channels to give priority to the transportation of new COVID-19 vaccines. Those engaged in the domestic transportation of exported new vaccine shall take the initiative to issue an export transportation dispatch order for these vaccine during customs clearance.

The customs department will give priority to inspection and facilitate customs clearance for those who hold the export transportation consignment note of the new COVID-19 virus vaccine. In addition, the unloading operation should be completed within the agreed time limit; if it is not agreed, the operation time should not exceed 1.5 hours.