Coronavirus India: can bull semen transport network be used for vaccine distribution?

Name: World gears up to distribute Covid-19 vaccines as drug makers await medical regulator approvals
Uploaded: 2020-12-01T12:19:48.000Z
Duration: 3 min 13 s
Description: World gears up to distribute Covid-19 vaccines as drug makers await medical regulator approvals

Some see the cold-storage system used in the artificial insemination of cattle as suitable and scalable for Covid-19 vaccine use

Policymakers have approached private companies in the cold-chain network to both assess and bolster their capacities in preparation for mass distribution

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the Serum Institute of India in Pune to review the progress and distribution process of the Covid-19 vaccine. EPA-EFE

Vasudevan Sridharan

Published: 8:19pm, 1 Dec 2020Updated: 11:43am, 10 Dec 2020

India, with the second-largest number of Covid-19 infections in the world, has turned its focus to vaccine development and procurement as it seeks to inoculate as many of its 1.3 billion population as possible and avoid the full ravages of he pandemic. But in a country where the temperature exceeds 50 degree Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts in peak summer and infrastructure is rickety, the primary challenge lies in transporting any potential vaccines at ultra-cold temperatures.

To meet this looming impediment, some company executives and officials in the Indian dairy industry are examining the possibility of using the same cold-storage infrastructure employed in the artificial insemination of cattle to transport the vaccines, although getting government officials on board with the idea remains a work in progress.

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World gears up to distribute Covid-19 vaccines as drug makers await medical regulator approvals

India, the world’s largest milk producer, performs about 80 million artificial inseminations annually to crossbreed cattle. The technology used in the operation involves collecting semen from elite bulls and keeping it inside “straws” – cryogenic containers filled with liquid nitrogen that keeps the temperature as low as minus 196 degree Celsius. The straws are then transported across the length and breadth of the country, with the last-mile delivery done with three-litre jars fitted on motorbikes.

After the technology first emerged among cattle breeders in the American Midwest in the mid-20th century, the liquid nitrogen-powered cold-chain system was adapted over the decades for use in global health care chains – from sperm storage to organ transplantation.

Rajiv Mitra, the chief executive of Prabhat Dairy, the Indian subsidiary of the French-headquartered multinational giant and dairy products leader Groupe Lactalis, said the cold-chain system used to transport bull semen could be useful in carrying and delivering Covid-19 vaccines.

“This technology is easily scalable since there are just two crucial elements involved – insulated containers, which are manufactured by state-run bodies like Indian Oil Corporation, and liquid nitrogen, a by-product of oxygen-manufacturing companies,” he said.

An employee at the Serum Institute of India removes vials of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine from a visual inspection machine. Photo: Reuters

Globally, several vaccine candidates are awaiting final approval from regulators, after showing high levels of efficacy. Pfizer-Biotech’s vaccine needs ultra-low cold storage of about minus 70 degree Celsius, while the vaccines of Moderna and AstraZeneca require storage at between minus 2 and 8 degrees Celsius.