Rapid response solutions experts offer dry ice capacity to help safe delivery of Covid vaccine to patients

A PROVEN rapid response solutions business which came to the aid of UK care homes at the start of the pandemic is now offering to support safe delivery of the Covid vaccine to the nation’s population.

Eco, which has more than ten years experience of delivering dry ice solutions to the pharma industry and the NHS, has capacity to produce 7.5 tons of dry ice per day to help keep the vaccine at its required temperature during transportation and storage.

Pfizer and BioNTech, who have developed a vaccine which they say is more than 90 per cent effective at stopping Covid, expect to produce up to 50 million vaccine doses globally in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.

In the UK, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said the NHS will be ready from December to roll out the new coronavirus vaccine if it gets approved.

The vaccine is expected to need to be stored between -70 and -80 degrees Celsius until the day it is used.

Experts have warned that the “cold chain” logistics needed to safely transport the vaccine before it ultimately reaches patients will be challenging.

Eco, which helped to deliver one million items of lifesaving PPE to care homes across the UK in seven days earlier this year, is now ready to answer the call of helping to safely transport the vaccine.

Eco managing director Eddie Black said: “If there is extra capacity needed in the “cold chain” logistics we can help with that.

“We already supply dry ice to support the pharma industry in the UK, including a university-backed programme of research into vaccines. We also supply the NHS.

“Dry ice is the only stable product on the planet when it comes to the safe transportation and storage of vaccines. It is used to safely transport medicines all around the world.

“There is going to be a big peak in demand to ensure this vaccine to fight Covid is transported safely at the correct temperature.

“We have more than ten years of experience in the manufacture and supply of dry ice. It’s what our business was founded on. We are known for our quality and service and through our work to help the country during the pandemic we have also received praise for our rapid response solutions.

“Providing extra capacity for dry ice at a time when that capacity is hard to find to ensure safe transportation of the vaccine is another way we can help provide a rapid, quality service when it is needed most.

“We have been called upon several times before to provide that capacity at peak times, and given the scale and importance of what we are talking about now – a vaccine to fight Covid – this capacity is going to be even more vital than ever.

“We are here and ready to help fill the gaps and support that supply chain wherever it is needed most.”

Eco supports three main industries with the manufacture and supply of dry ice – pharma, cleaning and agriculture. It has also been supporting the cleaning of laundry equipment for the NHS.

Eco produces dry ice in different formats for different industries and countries depending on their requirements, from 3mm pellets/nuggets for the cleaning industry, 10mm for UK “cold chain” logistics, and 16mm across Europe and USA.

Eco, which is based in Annan, has set up a full Covid-19 emergency rapid response solutions operation and a special medical division to help society tackle the pandemic with a range of PPE equipment and testing pods, anti-virus sanitiser and cleaning solutions.

The team at Eco, who also have a base in Cumbria, answered the call to help a factory, which had a government order for manufacturing vital material for visors for the NHS, to continue production 24/7 by supplying anti-virus sanitiser and an on-call emergency sanitising team.

Eco also supplied vital PPE to care homes across the UK, including in London, Scotland, the West Midlands, Yorkshire, the North-East, Merseyside, and Cumbria, and has helped a range of GP surgeries across the North of England.

Any organisation or business which would benefit from Eco’s help is asked to contact 01461 500 206 or email [email protected] or visit www.teameco.co.uk for more information.