With Omicron Variant on the Rise, Thermal Custom Packaging (TCP) is Providing Secure Transportation of COVID Vaccine

Thermal Custom Packaging (TCP), a company specializing in transportation solutions for sensitive healthcare and military cargo, is bringing its packaging to the front lines of the COVID vaccine distribution to help fight the new Omicron variant. The phase change material (PCM) totes safely transport the vaccine, maintaining required temperatures.

On November 26, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified a new variant of concern, named Omicron. Cases of new variant have been identified in the US already and are beginning to spread across the nation. Fears can be calmed with the knowledge that has already been gathered and recommended to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The CDC recommends people follow prevention strategies such as wearing a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high community transmission, washing hands frequently, and physically distancing from others, in addition to getting fully vaccinated.

Recent data suggests that the original full vaccination is losing its effectiveness over time, especially in people aged 65 and older. Although COVID-19 vaccines are working to help prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death, healthcare experts are starting to see that protection reduce.

For increased immune response, the CDC encourages a booster shot that is now available for anyone 18 years or older. Made with the same formulation as the vaccines made originally to prevent COVID-19, this third dose is shown to help increase immune response, especially with the Omicron variant.  Data from clinical trials showed that a booster shot increased the immune response in trial participants who finished a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna primary series six months earlier or who received a J&J/Janssen single-dose vaccine 2 months earlier.

The emergence of the Omicron variant further emphasizes the importance of vaccination, boosters, and prevention efforts needed to protect against COVID-19. This need is being met equally with the desire for more vaccines across the country. TCP is instrumental in vaccine transport with the use of its specimen transport totes.

PCMs are formulated to keep temperatures stable in a specified temperature range by absorbing or releasing latent energy. TCP's lightweight insulated totes are capable of transporting between 350 - 2100 doses of Modern vaccine while holding -21-degrees centigrade temperatures for many hours. This same transport system can maintain refrigeration temperatures at zero degrees centigrade, using TCP's custom-made phase change materials, PC0, to store the Moderna vaccine for 30 days and the Pfizer vaccine for five days. Logistics in pharmaceutical industry is quite important.

About Thermal Custom Packaging (TCP)

Thermal Custom Packaging (TCP) is a medical product manufacturer—specializing in cold-chain transport solutions, insulated containers (totes), and the chemical reactions that maintain them. The Florida-based manufacturer run by doctors, has a unique understanding of what is needed out in the field and designs with input during testing in the field. The company is the force behind the PC-21, the latest transport technology for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and antibiotics—frozen without dry ice. Many of the world's largest healthcare services rely on TCP solutions.

SOURCE Thermal Custom Packaging