How Industrial Generators Improve Cold Chain Management

The advent of vaccines has made a massive positive impact on society. Diseases like measles, smallpox and rubella that used to ravage populations have been wiped out or reduced to a controllable level. Even the most recent pandemic is decreasing worldwide with the help of vaccines.

Vaccines help humankind enjoy a safer today and the hope for an even healthier future. But many people are unaware of all the work that goes into creating and maintaining vaccines. Consistent temperatures are key throughout the entire vaccine process. Even the smallest temperature change can affect a vaccine’s potential for successful immunization or can lead to spoilage of the vaccine entirely. For this reason, the cold chain of vaccines is essential for keeping them at the correct temperature while in your care and during distribution.

What Is the Cold Chain for Vaccines?

Every vaccine and its diluents need a specific temperature to remain stable, and this temperature varies depending on the vaccine. Some vaccines demand subzero temperatures to remain effective, while others should always stay above these extreme, cold temperatures. Higher temperatures can damage some vaccines, while others have higher heat resistance. Most often, vaccines require cold temperatures provided by a process called “cold chain management.”

For example, most vaccines should be stored at 35-45 degrees Fahrenheit (2-8 degrees Celsius). The appropriate storage temperature varies between vaccines, as others may require lower storage temperatures between 5 and minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 to minus 25 degrees Celsius). Vaccines need cold chain management to stay effective and stable throughout their creation, transportation, storage, delivery and administration. Vaccines must maintain their ideal temperature throughout the entire cold chain management process.

Cold chain management is a long process that demands consistency, teamwork and proper equipment. Only when each party carries out its role can successful vaccine distribution occur. The vaccine cold chain has several requirements, including:

The right equipment: Equipment encompasses storage refrigerators, thermometers, cold boxes and ice packs, to name a few. Each element is crucial throughout the cold chain management process.
Refrigerators and freezers: This equipment is essential for cold chain vaccine storage. Ensure you have dedicated refrigerators or freezers to hold all your vaccine doses without crowding.
Maintenance: The equipment you use for cold chain management needs proper maintenance to ensure dependability and usability.
Avoidance of power failures: To meet vaccine storage requirements, you’ll need to maintain consistent power to your refrigerators, freezers and other powered equipment. This makes backup generators a robust solution to your operation.

Innovations in the Vaccine Cold Chain

Like any other industry, the vaccine cold chain must adapt to remain as efficient and effective as possible. Recent innovations in the cold chain have focused on minimizing vaccine loss and gaining more control and visibility throughout the supply chain. Digitization makes many of these concepts possible. While many industries have quickly adopted digitized processes, the vaccine cold chain has been reluctant to move from manual processes until recent years.

Real-time monitoring solutions, automation and advanced refrigeration have been game-changing innovations for the vaccine cold chain. Plus, using generators allows companies across the cold chain to run important innovations and cooling units where power may be limited or unreliable.

Real-Time Monitoring

In the past, there has been no way for manufacturers or distributors to track vaccine shipments and statuses, making decision-making significantly more difficult across the cold chain and at the final use point.

Real-time monitoring provides 24/7 visibility from each end of the cold chain. Internet of Things (IoT) devices capture environmental information, including the temperature surrounding the vaccines. These devices can even trigger alerts when a vaccine’s temperature gets too high or low. IoT devices send data to analytic platforms in the cloud, making the data accessible anytime for operators.

Such abilities enable monitoring teams to make actionable decisions in real-time to maintain continuity and streamline the cold chain. For example, if a vaccine triggers a temperature alarm, action can be taken immediately to remedy the situation before irreversible damage.

Automation

Automated processes also enhance the cold chain by reducing human handling, which results in fewer human errors. With increasingly complex supply chains including tens of thousands of stakeholders and partners, automation simplifies many of the complexities associated with these large supply chains. For example, automated communications and alerts notify multiple parties with actionable data and insights, enabling smart workflows and increasing success.

Advanced Refrigeration Units and Temperature Control

Innovations to vaccine refrigeration units themselves have helped with temperature control throughout the cold chain. Since vaccines must be kept at consistent temperatures, refrigerators and freezers must be on or be able to hold their temperature for periods when they may be without power. This is also where generators are necessary to help provide consistent power to refrigeration units to ensure constant temperatures.

What Are the Risks of Cold Chain Failure?

Uninterrupted cold chain management is necessary for the health and well-being of people worldwide suffering from various diseases and illnesses. Accordingly, cold chain failure is critical and can lead to dire consequences. What constitutes a cold chain failure? With a rigid process like cold chain management, even a small hiccup in the system can be detrimental. Consider these risks associated with cold chain failure.

Vaccine Loss

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that every vaccine must remain within one degree Fahrenheit of its recommended temperature. This is a small window for error and essentially demands that you meet the recommended vaccine cold chain temperature at all times and at all costs. Failing to do so could result in damaged vaccines.

When vaccines are damaged, whether due to temperature changes or another factor, they lose potency. At this point, the vaccine is useless, even if administered, because it lacks the necessary potency to protect from its intended disease. Vaccine loss ultimately leads to fewer lives saved and increased expenditures.

Fewer Lives Saved

Vaccines stop the spread of the disease and save lives. The smallest temperature shift during the cold chain management process can lead to a spoiled batch of vaccines, leading to fewer lives saved. This sad fact is especially crucial in time-sensitive cases. The risk of being unable to save lives is the most important reason for the cold chain of vaccines. Avoiding cold chain failure can be the difference between life and death.

Increased Expenditures

Government bodies and research facilities put a lot of money into researching, manufacturing and distributing vaccines. Much of this money comes from taxpayer dollars. While sunk financial costs are a secondary risk compared to the loss of life, it is still a strong motivator for successful vaccine cold chain management. Avoiding cold chain failure opens budgets for greater research and manufacturing opportunities, leading to more available vaccines. Fewer setbacks lead to more successful vaccines produced.

Types of Vaccine Refrigerators

Refrigerators and freezers play a key role in the cold chain of vaccines. The following list contains freezer options for cold chain vaccine storage.

Medical-Grade Vapor-Compression

Medical-grade vapor-compression refrigerators use heavy insulation, cooling fans and temperature monitoring equipment to maintain proper conditions for vaccine doses. They need a connection to the electrical grid and require a dedicated backup power source to function during a power outage. Many repair technicians are available for medical-grade vapor-compression refrigerators, which are common in the medical industry.

Solar-Powered Vapor-Compression

Solar-powered vapor-compression refrigerators can exist apart from an electrical power grid by converting sunlight into the energy needed to power their cooling components. This ability ensures the vaccines stay at the proper temperature despite power outages. However, solar-powered refrigerators need plenty of sunlight to work. These refrigerators are also a larger investment upfront and are more difficult to maintain. Only trained professionals can maintain solar-powered vapor-compression refrigerators for vaccines.

Battery Storage Solar Systems

Solar-powered refrigerators can exist apart from the grid, but they demand sunlight, which can be fickle depending on the weather. Battery storage solar systems store energy in a dedicated battery to allow the refrigerator to continue working for a set period, even when sunlight is unavailable.

Direct Drive Solar Systems

Direct drive solar systems lack a battery and convert sunlight directly into usable energy for the refrigerator. These refrigerators have a greater holdover time, which is a refrigerator’s ability to maintain a set internal temperature despite a lack of sunlight powering the cooling mechanisms.

Ice-Lined Vapor Compression

Ice-lined vapor-compression refrigerators have a long holdover time, reaching lengths of at least 20 hours and up to several days. This extended holdover time is possible due to ice lining the cabinet of the storage area to maintain internal temperatures longer after the fridge loses power.

How to Mitigate the Risks of Vaccine Loss

To invest in a successful vaccine cold chain process and save lives, you should create a vaccine storage contingency plan. Having one will ensure your vaccines stay safe and fresh while they await transportation and distribution to areas in need. What does a proper vaccine storage contingency plan look like? Design yours to include the following attributes:

Train staff to deal with emergencies: Your staff should have a solid understanding of the cold chain process and proper training to deal with emergencies that could threaten the integrity of the vaccines. Emergencies like power outages pose a major threat to your vaccines in cold storage, so be sure to train your staff to know what to do if such an event arises.
Engage in proper data recording and reporting: Governing bodies and the people involved in the next stage of the cold chain process rely on you to keep accurate data while the vaccines are in your care. Record and report the status of vaccines, including any temperature fluctuations or abnormalities. This data could be essential in saving lives later in the cold chain of vaccines.
Keep functioning temperature alarms and monitors: Keeping a consistent temperature is key to the cold chain process. For that reason, you need functioning temperature alarms and monitors. Temperature monitors will give you a visual reading of the refrigerator’s current temperature. Alarms will signal you when temperatures change or approach dangerous levels.
Ensure your power source can remain uninterrupted: You must avoid cold chain failure at all costs, including ensuring your source of power stays consistent at all times. For this to be successful, you’ll need a backup power supply to keep your refrigerators running even when the electrical grid goes down.

Consider Standby Generators as Part of a Vaccine Storage Contingency Plan

Standby generators are a key component of every vaccine storage contingency plan. A standby generator will ensure your refrigerators and freezers can keep running during a power outage or electrical grid malfunction. A backup power source for vaccines is essential because once the power goes out, the clock starts ticking for the vaccine’s holdover time. Depending on the refrigerator, the vaccines may have a short time limit until they start going bad and become unusable.

Non-solar-powered refrigerators depend on electricity to power their cooling compressors. This constant supply of electricity is what makes proper cooling possible. Refrigerators and freezers contain plenty of insulation to keep cold temperatures in and ambient temperatures out, but this insulation alone can’t keep the vaccine doses at the correct temperature. A steady electrical connection is essential.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), medical institutions need a backup generator to stay operational during a power outage. This regulation is paramount in keeping vaccines safe and effective. When you connect your storage facility or medical laboratory to a standby generator, you can enjoy a steady power connection at all times. If the grid goes down, your generator will turn on immediately to power your vaccine refrigerators.

Voltage regulators are another helpful piece of equipment that can enhance your vaccine storage contingency plan. Voltage irregularities can threaten the stability and functionality of your refrigerators and freezers. A surge of electricity can damage refrigerator components, affecting the fridge’s internal temperature. Install voltage regulators to ensure the electricity your vaccine storage refrigerators receive is always at a consistent voltage.

Maintaining a Generator Used for Medical Supply Storage

A standby generator is a critical part of your vaccine storage contingency plan. You should keep your backup generator in good working condition so it can turn on without issues the next time the power goes out. Use proper maintenance practices to keep your standby generator ready for action. Here are some tips for maintaining your vaccine storage facility’s backup generator:

Create an emergency preparedness plan: Your vaccine storage facility needs an emergency preparedness plan to keep managers, employees and vaccines safe during emergencies, including power outages. Part of your emergency preparedness plan should be maintaining your generator so you know it will work when the grid goes down.
Schedule generator inspections: Regular inspections are crucial in keeping your standby generator operational. Inspections will reveal if any component of your facility’s generator needs repair or replacement. The CDC recommends yearly service inspections to keep your generator operational for years to come. Even if you go years without a power outage at your facility, these inspections are crucial in preparing for emergencies.
Test your generator: The CDC recommends quarterly testing of standby generators. Four times per year, test your generator to make sure it works. This will also give your generator time to run, which is good for keeping its components lubricated and operational. Machines like generators can develop problems without occasional use.
Use fresh fuel in your generator: Depending on conditions, your generator’s fuel will expire after several months to a year. Fuel evaporation, water accumulation and bacteria growth can all affect your generator’s fuel. If you try running your generator with spoiled fuel, you could accidentally cause damage, leading to expensive repairs. Use a fuel stabilizer to extend the life of your generator’s fuel and avoid spoiled fuel at all costs.

Woodstock Power Generators Can Help With Cold Chain Management

Woodstock Power has the generators to complete your vaccine storage contingency plan, and we understand the importance of cold chain effectiveness. Our inventory of commercial generators includes nationally recognized brands at a fraction of the cost. You can enjoy peace of mind knowing your vaccine storage can make it through a power outage thanks to a high-quality generator backing you up. Backup generators for hospitals and health care facilities are essential, and you need one you can rely on.

Buying a brand new generator can be expensive. At Woodstock Power, we carry new overstock or lightly used generators that meet your energy needs while fitting into your budget. And we work with contractors in your area for convenient service installation so you can focus on running your vaccine storage facility or health care center. Let the professionals handle your generator delivery and installation needs.

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