Will Covid-19 Vaccine Create a Dry Ice Shortage?

As Covid-19 counts continue to rise in North America, Europe and throughout the world, the potential for a vaccine comes at a critical time as scientists seek to prevent transmission of the virus by individuals already infected.

On November 9, 2020, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their trial of a Covid-19 vaccine showed a 90% efficacy rate and very promising results in participants who had developed symptoms. The results are preliminary as Pfizer has cautioned that the protection rate initially shown in research may change by the time the actual study ends. On November 16, 2020 Moderna announced their Covid-19 vaccine has an efficacy rate of 94%. This is extremely encouraging as well, as mRNA vaccines appear to be on track to shattering all past performance rates of old-school vaccines (both trials are for mRNA vaccines).

However, with the advent of an effective vaccine for the world coming soon, the next issue the pharmaceutical industry is grappling with is the mass production, storage, and distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine. Dry ice might be the interim answer, but that creates a challenge for dry ice distributors and equipment makers as the potential for a lack of availability of dry ice looms.