{"id":392841,"date":"2020-12-14T14:22:19","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T22:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&p=392841"},"modified":"2024-05-10T06:32:31","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T13:32:31","slug":"covid-19-vaccine-cold-chain-and-a-supply-chain-challenge","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/covid-19-vaccine-cold-chain-and-a-supply-chain-challenge","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 Vaccines, an Urgent Global Need, and a Supply Chain Challenge"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[731,378582,1021],"tags":[430851,281,386282,471772],"department":[488822],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-392841","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-iot","category-transportation","tag-covid-19","tag-location-intelligence","tag-supply-chain-management","tag-vaccine","department-sustainability-risk"],"acf":{"short_description":"COVID-19 vaccines will be distributed through a global cold chain that is inherently inefficient. Location intelligence will be key.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"In November, as soon as Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca announced promising results from their respective COVID-19 vaccine trials, the public\u2019s attention began to shift from research and development toward distribution."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Article snapshot:<\/strong> The development of COVID-19 vaccines has broken speed records at a time when the world desperately needs rapid solutions. The next global challenge: distributing vaccines effectively through the cold chain.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Urgent and worldwide demand for vaccination creates an immense logistics challenge. Distributors and health-care providers will need to navigate the vaccine cold chain, a specialized, temperature-controlled supply chain hampered by inefficiencies and limited infrastructure.\r\n\r\nAs leaders work quickly to optimize and reinforce the cold chain<\/a>, many will turn to the location technology they\u2019ve used to optimize supply chain management for decades.\r\n

Minimizing Risk in Real Time<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nImproving a supply chain often starts with operational visibility. IoT sensors and real-time data analysis tools can be key tools for logistics companies<\/a> to collect data throughout a product\u2019s manufacturing and distribution. Adding location technology, like a geographic information system (GIS), creates valuable tracking and visualization capabilities.\r\n\r\nIn the case of the vaccine cold chain, the combination of IoT and GIS could be key to preventing losses. Vaccines degrade quickly and must be kept within a specific temperature range\u2014public health guidelines<\/a> note that even minor deviations can render a vaccine ineffective."},{"acf_fc_layout":"form","form_type":"aside","form_position":"Right","form_title":"THE ESRI BRIEF","form_desc":"A biweekly email connecting senior executives and business leaders with thought-provoking articles on location intelligence and critical technology trends.","form_button_label":"Sign up now","form_content":"https:\/\/go.pardot.com\/l\/82202\/2017-10-12\/jw1bmb","form_tag":"low-commitment-form\/sign-up-form"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Approximately 25 percent of shipped vaccines are compromised due to poor temperature management, according to a 2019 report<\/a> from the International Air Transport Association. The report estimates that temperature-related pharmaceutical damage costs the health-care industry in excess of $34 billion each year.\r\n\r\nFor the people and economies depending on a COVID-19 prophylaxis, ineffective cold chain management will be especially costly.\r\n\r\nThese are precisely the kinds of risks that can be minimized with location intelligence and greater supply chain visibility. The concept has been applied to reducing perishable food waste<\/a> by using IoT sensors to track temperature shifts during shipment. Using smart maps to track a shipment\u2019s location and temperature adds vital environmental context and transparency in a segment of the supply chain where the risk of disruption is high.\r\n\r\nBusinesses that monitor live data on a GIS-based map are able to react in real time, as FedEx does to manage its fleet of planes<\/a>. For vaccine distributors, such situational awareness can expose flaws in the cold chain and help prevent spoilage. Supply chain managers might reroute a delivery if the power is out at its planned destination, or alert transporters if temperature inconsistencies are detected in transit.\r\n\r\nFor many products\u2014and especially the COVID-19 vaccine\u2014the ultimate goal is faster delivery with fewer losses. Location-based visibility will help cold chain distributors achieve this level of efficiency as the world inches closer to the pandemic\u2019s end.\r\n

Finding and Filling Critical Gaps<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nEfficiency is one attribute of successful vaccine distribution; equity is another. The COVID-19 virus can\u2019t be stopped unless the vaccine is broadly administered. But the cold chain, with its specialized equipment and processes, is inherently an inequitable system. It favors high-resource communities with ample transportation options, a consistent power supply, and a trained workforce. Places and populations that lack these amenities must be identified, and steps must be taken to ensure vaccine accessibility\u2014tasks more easily accomplished with smart maps that highlight coverage gaps<\/a>."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"A Digital Twin Illuminates a Moving Target<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe Port of Rotterdam has made a name for itself as a supply chain innovator, and its Container 42 project underscores the value of digital twins. Using sensors, real-time data streams, and location technology, these cutting-edge shipping containers provide a nuanced view of goods in transit to help manufacturers, logistics providers, and retailers plan their supply chains more effectively.\r\n\r\nWith the cold chain in focus for COVID-19 vaccine distribution, supply chain innovations like this take on heightened importance. Learn more about the Container 42 project in this article<\/a>.<\/strong>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Such maps could take the form of a supply chain digital twin<\/a>\u00a0(see sidebar), a virtual copy of the real world that can be used to test a variety of scenarios and enable smarter responses to supply chain conditions.\r\n\r\nFor example, each of the three vaccines currently up for approval has different storage requirements. The Pfizer vaccine\u2019s temperature range can only be maintained with an ultracold freezer or dry ice. Moderna\u2019s vaccine must be kept frozen, but standard freezer temperatures suffice. AstraZeneca\u2019s can be stored in a standard refrigerator.\r\n\r\nWith a digital twin, stakeholders can plan their distribution strategies. Some parts of the US, for instance, have pre-ordered from Pfizer but don\u2019t have ultracold storage. Many plan to rely on dry ice\u2014but what if high demand<\/a> causes a shortage similar to recent runs on PPE supplies, and as a result, dry ice prices rise? If it turns out to be more cost-effective to install an ultracold freezer, planners will need location intelligence to identify the most strategic location within the community.\r\n\r\nAlternatively, some places won\u2019t have the option of freezer storage at all, including certain regions of Africa that rely solely on solar-powered refrigerators<\/a>. Local leaders will need to ensure that these communities have access to an approved vaccine that can be stored safely at warmer temperatures. A digital twin<\/a> of the cold chain could highlight pathways to equitable distribution in those areas.\r\n

A Location-Based Solution for a Location-Based Virus<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nJust as COVID-19 has spread from place to place, the vaccine must follow geographic pathways to support a global recovery. Unlike the virus, however, the vaccine\u2019s possible routes are limited by the cold chain. Location intelligence is the key to understanding where vaccines need to go and how to get them there.\r\n\r\nAs public health organizations continue to approve vaccines and the distribution process begins in earnest, location technologies will likely prove themselves an essential tool in supply chain optimization."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nVaccine Cold Chain: Optimizing Efficiency and Equity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The COVID-19 vaccine cold chain is inherently inefficient, meaning distributors will need location intelligence to manage it well.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/covid-19-vaccine-cold-chain-and-a-supply-chain-challenge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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