Vaccine vials, critical packing
components and dry-ice
Frozen vaccine requires specialized glass and frozen temps
Aviation Development Council Bill Huisman, Port Authority Program Manager Ralph Tragale, Teterboro Airport Manager Maria Sheridan, ASDO's
Dolores Hofman & Helene Gibbs at the 2019 Networking Event at Newark Airport.
AIRPORT VOICE, DECEMBER 2020 5
BY JEFF YAPALATER
There is a lot of talk about
the actual properties of the
actual vaccines but there
is a lot to know about what
else is necessary, the vials
and packaging. the case of
the Pfizer vaccine, the subzero
temps posed a challenge
for the company. Previously
used vials did not require the
durability to temperature.
The Pfizer medicine requires
a tough vial to remain the
constant -70 Celsius, s constant
temperature but also
the thawing of the vaccine
hours before injection. With
the long distances that the
vaccine will travel, special
boxes and the use of dry ice
was imperative.
Pfizer signed a multiyear
deal with Corning in
May to buy Valor glass vials
for some of its drugs that
are already on the market.
A month later, Corning got
$204 million from the US
Biomedical Advanced Research
and Development Authority
(BARDA) to expand
domestic manufacturing
of Valor glass vials to hold
COVID-19 vaccines. At the
White House in 2017, Corning
joined Merck and Pfizer
to announce a Valor Glass
collaboration focused on
modernizing pharmaceutical
glass packaging.
Another company, SiO2
Materials Science, is turning
to plastic medical vials that
are lined with a glass-like
coating.
Using a process called
plasma-enhanced chemical
vapor deposition, the company
applies a nanoscale
layer of organosilica to the
inside of the plastic shells,
creating a chemically inert
interior, the company says,
“This coating provides the
protective properties of glass
but does not have any of the
typical problems of glass. We
have fused the two materials
into a better, safer, more durable
hybrid.”
Italy’s Stevanato Group
inked a deal in June with
the Coalition for Epidemic
Preparedness Innovations
(CEPI) to supply 100 million
borosilicate glass vials.
Each will hold 20 doses
of a COVID-19 vaccine, Stevanato
says. CEPI, a partnership
founded in 2017
to develop vaccines for future
epidemics, has formed
a coalition with the World
Health Organization (WHO)
and the global vaccine alliance
Gavi. The coalition,
called Covax, intends to
distribute 2 billion doses of
a COVID-19 vaccine by the
end of 2021 and to “guarantee
fair and equitable
access,” according to the
WHO.Stevanato Group’s
high-quality glass vials will
be able to store 20 doses per
vial compared to the Pfizer
vial holding 5 doses.
Dry Ice
The use of dry ice in the
shipping boxes that contain
the vaccine are also very
important. There are safety
concerns about transporting
large quantities of dry
ice, which can emit carbon
dioxide, on airplanes. Packaging
dry ice in a container
that does not allow adequate
release of the gas could cause
the container to explode from
the built-up levels of pressure,
a process known as sublimation.
Dry ice can also
deprive a confined space of
oxygen, making it difficult to
breathe.
That’s why the U.S. Department
of Transportation
and the International Air
Transport Association classify
dry ice as hazardous
when transported. Though
under normal flight ventilation
conditions, the risk of
suffocation or an explosion
from dry ice is minimal, according
to the FAA.
The vials and packaging
are most important in this
cold chain. The chain is fragile
The World Health Organization
estimates that about
2.8 million doses of vaccines
were lost in five countries in
2011 because the cold chain
was broken.
Through Operation Warp
Speed, the Administration
has led a historic collaboration
between the U.S. private
sector and U.S. health
and regulatory agencies to
accelerate the development,
testing, approval, and manufacturing
of COVID-19 vaccines
while maintaining the
highest quality, efficacy, and
safety standards
The end of an era of networking aiding local business
Saying Good-Bye to the Aviation Development Council
At the end of 2020, the airport
says goodbye to the The
Aviation Development Council.
After decaades of providing
innumerable and important
servies to the entire
airports commnities, the
program has been discontinued.
Gone are the very familiar
faces of Bill Huisman,
Doores Hofman and Heloene
Gibbs that graced so many of
our commiunuty events. Bill
and his team , under recently
retired Ralph Tragale of the
Port, have been professional,
caring and utterly supportive
of the many organizations
and community functions all
around all the Port Airports.
Especially oDlores Hoffman
who originally worked as a
fork life back in theday when
she was an able and willing
worker in the warehouses.
Her positivetivyty , energy
and love for her job and community
are legendary.
We will miss them, and
hope that the coming year
somehow brings them back
into our community.
A little history of the ADC
and ASDO.
(ADC) was established in
1962, by the PANYNJ, in order
to address the airport communities
concerns about the introduction
of jet aircraft, and
its associated aircraft noise,
into the Port Authority’s airports
. This is when the work
of ADC began in working as a
bridge organization between
the local business communities
and the Port Authority of
New York & New Jersey.
Over the years, other community
focused programs
were added to Aviation Development
Council’s portfolio.
These ASDO programs
ensured that local businesses
in the communities surrounding
the PA’s airports would receive
direct opportunities to
offer products & services to
the airlines, airport tenants,
and associated aviation companies
located in these airports.
These programs became
part of the overall community
focus & mission of Aviation
Development Council. Over
the years, Dolores Hofman,
has helped to connect local
businesses to the region’s aviation
purchasers to the tune
of $1.84B, comprising over
11K+ direct contracts. The
NJASDO Office, managed by
Helene Gibbs, has assisted local
NJ businesses in acquiring
approx. $1.24B in direct
contracts.
With the PANYNJ’s focus
to redevelop LGA, JFK, and
also Newark International
Airport, the ASDO programs
have worked closely with the
JFK, LGA, Newark, and Elizabeth
Community Outreach
Offices on improving the connection
between local MWBE
businesses with the new opportunities
presented by the
Port Authority’s ongoing
airport redevelopment programs.