During the beginning of all this everyone was freaking out about how we were going to be able to ship and store this magical elixir at -70F. They were adamant about it. People were worried about refrigeration shortages.
I'm sure it cost a significant lot more to ship something then store it at -70F.
What happened that we went from this getting shipped in temperature controlled shipping containers, to sitting on a truck in a cardboard box next to my Amazon order...
My notes: "The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine must be stored at ultra-low freezing temperatures, about -100 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature falls well below what's found in a standard freezer," explains Dr. John Cooke, medical director of the RNA Therapeutics Program at Houston Methodist. "In fact, the type of freezers needed to store this vaccine long-term aren't ones you'll find in a doctor's office, drug store or even most hospitals. The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine also needs to be kept frozen for long-term stability, but it can be kept in a standard refrigerator in a clinic for a few weeks." Leveraging mRNA technology has been pivotal in developing a safe, effective vaccine so quickly, but mRNA itself is incredibly fragile — it gets broken down very rapidly and easily. This inherent instability of mRNA is what has made developing an mRNA-based vaccine so challenging in the past. In addition, the biological material used to package the mRNA so it can be delivered as a vaccine is also somewhat unstable. Ouch, a lot of questions on long term use.... jp