Designing an effective cold chain system is essential for the distribution of vaccines, medications and other sensitive items. However, doing it is particularly challenging when the items in question are arriving in or departing from remote areas. Here are some viable possibilities.

Use a remote temperature monitoring (RTM) device

Installing remote temperature monitoring technology at the locations that store or will receive perishable goods is one option proven to work well in more isolated areas. In one case study, those devices got installed at 120 immunization centers throughout Tanzania.

Before implementing that technology, staff members at each site took twice-daily temperature readings during business hours. However, that method gave no insights into what happened at other times, including over the weekends. The new RTM devices send information to a centralized dashboard that gets monitored remotely.

People also receive text messages if the temperature goes outside a predefined range. Then, they can promptly take the necessary actions to prevent spoilage. The dashboard also enables tracking equipment performance changes that might indicate people should escalate a refrigerator’s maintenance or replacement.

Other temperature-monitor approaches exist, too. Some companies embed Internet of Things (IoT) sensors in cargo to get real-time updates of any temperature deviations. Those are especially useful if multiple people or companies will handle the goods because it’s easier to see where or whether the cold chain system breaks down.

Deploy drones

Drone deliveries are still in the relatively early stages. However, they could be feasible options in areas with limited infrastructure. In one trial, the residents of a small Irish town could get grocery essentials delivered by drone. Their orders arrived approximately 200 seconds after leaving the store.

Going back to pharmaceutical items specifically, another project involved working with the Nepalese government to determine how best to utilize drones for vaccine distribution. Research identified six districts of Nepal that would get the greatest advantages from such a cold chain system improvement. Some of them included mountainous areas in the Northern part of the country. The investigation also showed that using drones could allow for a 10- to 12-cent savings per dose over the current vaccine distribution method.

Improper storage temperatures could pose issues at every stage of the cold chain. For example, the risks may go up as the overall travel time and distance lengthen. However, since drone journeys usually happen within minutes, those are no longer a concern with such trips.

Drones have also been game-changers in Rwanda, where 83% of the population lives in remote areas. Traditionally, when hospitals needed blood donations, they came via the road network. However, that wasn’t an ideal option due to the bumpy terrain and long distances involved. Now, a drone company has two hubs in Rwanda and each can make up to 500 blood deliveries daily.

Rely on solar-powered refrigerators

People have also enhanced the cold chain system in remote locations using solar-powered refrigeration solutions. This option allows transporting vaccines and similarly perishable goods in box-style refrigerators that don’t need fuel or batteries. This option enabled a 50% boost in childhood vaccination campaigns within the poorest areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Elsewhere, Kenyan entrepreneur Norah Mageros designed a solar cooler called the Vaccibox. It charges in only two hours, then keeps things cold for nine hours. Before using this technology, workers from vaccine distribution centers travelled to facilities such as hospitals and worked as fast as they could to deliver the products before their ice packs began to melt.

Now, this technology gives them more flexibility and allows them to transport more products per trip. One hospital that received vaccines in the Vaccibox can now keep more than 1,000 doses on site. That availability has caused a 45% rise in vaccination rates.

Prioritize specially formulated vaccines

Researchers have also made progress in developing vaccines that don’t have such stringent temperature requirements. A team at the University of Bath pioneered a technology called ensilication that wraps vaccines in protective shells and stops them from degrading at certain temperatures. This technology allows storing formerly temperature-sensitive vaccines at room temperature for up to three years.

After first coming up with the concept in a lab, the group proved its real-world feasibility in 2020. That happened when they ran a test by sending a tetanus vaccine on a 300-mile journey through the mail. When it reached the destination, researchers injected the vaccine into mice and verified that it caused the desired and expected immune response. However, the vaccine without the protective coating did not trigger one, indicating it got spoiled in transit.

Dr. Asel Sartbaeva, who led the project, said, “This project has focused on tetanus, which is part of the DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) vaccine given to young children in three doses. Next, we will be working on developing a thermally stable vaccine for diphtheria and then pertussis. Eventually, we want to create a silica cage for the whole DTP trivalent vaccine so that every child in the world can be given DTP without having to rely on cold chain distribution.”

Elsewhere, experts are working on protein-based COVID-19 vaccines that do not need refrigeration. Tests on one of them showed it was possible to freeze-dry the product and then reconstitute it without losing efficacy. Such solutions could be instrumental for getting vaccines to places that don’t have an established cold chain system.

Numerous possibilities for strengthening the cold chain system

These real-life examples show some of the practical options for getting temperature-sensitive products to less-developed and harder-to-reach areas. They all take time and other resources to implement, but the payoffs could be substantial for overall public health.

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Emily Newton is the Editor-in-Chief of Revolutionized. She’s always excited to learn how the latest industry trends will improve the world. She has over five years of experience covering stories in the science and tech sectors.