Cristiano Zerbini explained that the company studies a dry ice-based box model to transport the immunizer.
The need to maintain the covid-19 vaccine developed by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer in partnership with the German laboratory BioNTech at temperatures below -70°C “will not be a major problem” for transportation and distribution. That’s what the coordinator of the research in São Paulo, Cristiano Zerbini, said on Thursday (19) in an interview with Radio Bandeirantes. According to him, the company, in addition to the vaccine, studies a model of transportable box based on dry ice.
“It’s no use making the vaccine, we need to worry about logistics and distribution. This will be resolved soon. There has already been this problem in Africa with the Ebola vaccine. A company made a vaccine that needed to be kept at -80°C. What did they do? Small containers that you can load, are very small, and keep the vaccine preserved for several days”, he said.
“That’s not going to be a big problem. We have smaller technical instruments, which can be loaded and transported easily. Logistics, transportation, everything is being calculated. We have to think this: although we live in São Paulo and have more ease, we want all Brazilians from all states, including the most distant cities, to have the same opportunity. We want everyone to be vaccinated with good vaccines.”
The researcher also reported that there is the possibility of transferring technology to Brazil, a conversation that is already happening between Pfizer and the Ministry of Health, and highlighted the importance of the Unified Health System (SUS).
“The SUS has a huge capillarity, it is fundamental in the vaccination process. We have to defend the SUS at all costs. He’s very important to all of us. The vaccine should be free for the entire Brazilian population, equally, without economic difference. It has to be free and for everyone,” he said.
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