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(Sharecast News) - DHL warned on Thursday that two-thirds of the world's population is unlikely to have easy access to any Covid-19 vaccine requiring storage at freezing temperatures.
Research carried out by German company DHL and consultancy firm McKinsey has found that there are insufficient "last mile" cooling and storage facilities at clinics in large parts of Africa, Asia and South America. The research said this issue would "pose the biggest challenge" to delivering a vaccine at scale.
Existing "cold-chain" infrastructure, which allows for temperatures to be controlled throughout the delivery process, is only sufficient to bring a frozen vaccine to 2.5bn people in approximately 25 developed countries, the paper concluded.
Over 170 potential Covid-19 vaccines are currently in development, according to the World Health Organization, and more than 30 of those have already proceeded to clinical trials.
Vaccines that can be stored at between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius would allow for "more efficient distribution", DHL said.
4 Oct 2023 12:14
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