Two employees wearing visors and safety vests collaborating in warehouse

Vaccine Storage and Distribution

Vaccines are an essential component of modern public health. At Movianto, we support all types of vaccine programs, whether they be international, national, or local. Vaccine storage and distribution has long been at the heart of Movianto, and this was never more prevalent that during the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Movianto's Vaccine Expertise

For decades Movianto have played a pivotal role in mass storage and distribution of a broad range of vaccines, all requiring specific temperature ranges for storage and distribution, from the ultra-low -75°C to -20°C, through to 2-8°C.

Two workers in safety vests working in the vaccine storage

The Covid-19 Operation

During the pandemic, Movianto were asked by several European Governments to design and develop a robust end-to-end solution for the storage and distribution of the Covid-19 vaccines. At the time the full range of future vaccines remained unknown.

Vaccines

The UK Covid Solution

Movianto developed a robust solution which was designed to cover all known and unknown eventualities. When the UK became the first country to licence the Covid-19 Vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, Movianto were ready to start the national vaccine distribution program. As additional vaccines became licenced from Astra Zeneca and Moderna Movianto grow its capacity across Europe.

From the UK’s dedicated vaccine centre Movianto have stored and distributed over 200 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccines alongside all those consumables associated with the program.

Vaccines

The Dutch Covid Solution

Movianto in the Netherlands was asked by the Dutch government in September 2020 to play a crucial role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. It was obvious that this request would come because Movianto Netherlands had over a decade experience in vaccine logistics and cold chain management. Within only three months, the entire preparation was done and the COVID-19 vaccine operation for The Netherlands was set up.

Movianto was able to receive the vaccines from BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen, to keep them in our special vaccine storage under various temperature conditions from 2°-8°C to -20°C and Ultra Low Temperature of -75°C, to do the pick and (re-)pack operation, and finally the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines to general practitioners, eldery homes, hospitals and vaccination centres throughout the country.

Wide Range of Vaccine Solutions

Outside of the Covid-19 vaccines Movianto continue to play a significant role in the distribution of other vaccines, these include : Seasonal Flu, Childhood vaccines as well as a full array of travel vaccines.

With full GDP and GMP capabilities Movianto are able to not only store and distribute vaccines but also provide a full service from defrost and pack down to relabelling, this ensures a real end to end solution.

FAQs

Storing vaccines under the right conditions in the right temperature zone is essential to ensure the quality of the product. Since immunization is critical to preventing many diseases and the spread of viruses, it is vital to store vaccins under the conditions prescribed by the manufacturer.

In fact, vaccines are sensitive to temperature, light, the way they are handled and other environmental factors. Improper storage can decrease their performance and the overall efficiency. The active components of a vaccine may break down at low temperatures, and at higher temperature levels they may be made less stable.

In all cases, throughout the supply chain, we must comply with storage conditions in order to provide the patient with a product that retains all its properties and efficacy.

The way vaccines are stored varies depending on its type and even the specifications of the medicine. For instance, certain vaccines need to be stored at -75°C, others at -27°C, -20°C or in a cool temperature range of 2-8°C. We at Movianto are able to accommodate all of these different temperature ranges.

In response to growing customer demand, we have already increased the refrigerated storage areas at some of our locations across Europe. We also have extensive freezer capacities in the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK, and these have also been expanded in the past few years.

What are the challenges of vaccine distribution?

Maintaining an end-to-end cold chain throughout all logistics stages.

Ensuring the integrity of the cold chain is paramount to vaccine distribution, and people working with such temperature-sensitive products must be trained accordingly. At Movianto we take care of the uninterrupted traceability of maintaining the cold chain of your active medicines at all stages of your supply chain - from the vaccines' production, storage at our facility to delivery to the final recipient - medical institution, hospital or patient. Our dedicated teammates undergo mandatory training on safe and efficient handling of such consignments.

Challenging Inventory procecess and Security measures

Effective inventory management systems and processes are key to ensuring adequate rotation of medicines and preventing expiration of vaccine doses. As immunization medicines are valuable life-saving products, they require increased security measures during transportation and storage. Our teams in Movianto are properly trained and measures are strictly followed in this regard.

To discover more our Inventory Management procesess

Customs Complexities

Running a vaccine supply chain internationally can be quite challenging. Going through customs procedures, border delays, understanding all the regulations can be stressful and time-consuming. A logistics provider must have their finger on the pulse in case of unforeseen circumstances. Entrust your vaccine logistic customs formalities to our Movianto experts in this field.

For further details, please see our Customs page.

Technical aspects are key in this highly sensitive distribution chain. Products are stored according to strict protocols, which also include spreading the risks over several compartments or several pieces of equipment. Keeping freezers in good working conditions and at the right temperature is obviously essential. Equipment is regularly serviced, and alarm systems and temperature monitoring systems are constantly monitored.