The world has just witnessed the fastest vaccine rollout in modern medical history. This undoubtedly saved lives – but it placed intense pressure on our healthcare systems, workers, and supply chain. This begs the question: is there potential to make future vaccination programs even more efficient? Guillaume Lehée, R&D Innovation Leader, BD Medical – Pharmaceutical Systems reckons that the solution may lie in pre-fillable syringes (PFS) which have the potential to minimise the many challenges involved in vaccine production and administration.
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‘Prefillable Syringes in Deep Cold Storage: Is This The Way Forward for Mass Vaccinations?‘
PFS have become an increasingly valuable option for the packaging and delivery of vaccines, as opposed to the traditional method of obtaining the contents of a vaccine from a vial via a syringe. PFS contain the vaccine which can be administered to a patient through the PFS itself, making them a ‘ready-to-use’ method of vaccine administration.
Prefillable Syringes vs. Vials
Over the years, PFS have become well-established in medicine thanks to their many benefits. Compared with vials, PFS provide benefits in terms of efficiency and patient safety, as they support many aspects of vaccine administration – from decreasing the time required to perform vaccinations, to minimising the occurrence of handling errors – and supporting dose sparing.
Efficient workflows in vaccine administration are crucial. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it became paramount that there was no time lost in vaccinating large numbers of society’s most vulnerable people. This is where PFS would be valuable to a mass vaccination program. Efficient and simple workflows may also help integration of COVID-19 immunisation into the possible future roll out of regular immunisation programs, such as flu or pneumococcal immunisation, in the coming months.
PFS are ready-to-use; they are prefilled during the fill & finish operation at pharmaceutical companies under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) quality controls, with the exact dose required for a patient. Preparation steps at point of care are thus avoided, in contrast to vaccines supplied in vials, whereby the health care worker has to withdraw the proper dose from the vial with a disposable syringe. Such prefilled single dose presentation provides the potential for faster vaccine administration. In fact, there are many evidence that support the quick administrative nature of PFS. It has been calculated that in a pandemic situation, the use of PFS to vaccinate 300 million people in the US could save over 3 million hours of HCP’s time, in which more people could be vaccinated.
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