Passenger jets can play integral role in frozen vaccine airlift

Passenger jets will be able to transport coronavirus vaccines at the required ultra-low temperatures as long as they are stored in specially made containers, according to Europe’s biggest cargo-only airline. No plane, even a purpose-built freighter, would otherwise be able to keep inoculations at the minus-80 degrees Celsius (minus-112 Fahrenheit) specified by Pfizer for its shot, according to Cargolux Airlines International CEO Richard Forson. That would make shipment in custom-designed boxes the only viable option, he said Thursday. “The container itself can remain at ambient temperature because it’s protected on the inside,” he said, adding that capacity won’t be an issue. “All the passenger aircraft in the world will be mobilized to transport these vaccines,” he said. Pfizer and German partner BioNTech delivered the most promising news yet about a potential Covid-19 vaccine earlier this week, when a study showed their shot prevented more than 90% of symptomatic infections in the trial of tens of thousands of volunteers. While the product remains in clinical trials, attention is already turning to how a proven dose can be manufactured and transported at the quantities needed to inoculate most of the world. One potential obstacle may be that bottlenecks appear elsewhere in the supply chain, Forson said, since Pfizer has said the box carrying the vaccine will have only a 10-day lifespan. It can also be opened no more than twice for a maximum period of one minute at a time, he added.<br/>