Pfizer decision to turn off temperature sensors forced scramble to ensure Covid-19 vaccines kept ultra-cold

Pfizer decision on vaccine temperature sensors forced scramble - STAT Hospitals and the U.S. government scrambled to figure out how they would monitor the temperature of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. Olivia Goldhill STAT

A last-minute snafu this fall threatened to disrupt the smooth rollout of the first Covid-19 vaccine approved in the United States, according to industry officials.

At issue was how to monitor the temperature of the ultra-cold storage containers being used to distribute vials of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. Pfizer, the officials told STAT, planned to disconnect temperature-monitoring sensors on the containers once they were delivered to health care providers — though many of the providers needed to use the boxes to store the vials for up to 30 days. Without the monitoring systems, providers would have no way of knowing if the vials had thawed prematurely, rendering the vaccine unusable.

In the end, the U.S. government’s Operation Warp Speed scrambled to address the problem, signing a $25 million deal in mid-November with Controlant Global, an Icelandic company that created the proprietary temperature-monitoring platform for all Pfizer’s shipping containers. Under this agreement, Pfizer will discontinue its temperature monitoring once the boxes arrive at their destination, and the federal government will simultaneously turn the system back on.

Still, the episode highlights how, in the frenzy to get a vaccine to the public, details crucial to its distribution were overlooked until late in the game. And it reflects how, despite efforts to protect vaccine makers from liability, legal concerns are shaping their actions. Experts said concerns over legal action, as well as bad publicity if vaccine doses were lost to thawing after delivery, likely drove Pfizer’s thinking.

Pfizer is shipping its vaccines in special containers packed in dry ice to keep them at the required minus-70 degrees Celsius. As few freezers get that cold, many health systems are using these containers to store the vaccines after they arrive. Premier, a group purchaser for U.S. hospitals, said that it asked Pfizer in November to reconsider its decision to disconnect the sensors, and that for weeks, health care providers sought to clarify whether they would need to purchase their own temperature sensors. ...