Inspectorate wants stricter conditions for transporting Covid vaccines

The Healthcare Inspectorate wants to introduce stricter requirements for the transport of coronavirus vaccines after reports of vaccines being transported in an amateurish manner. In some cases, this has led to vaccines having to be discarded, AD reported based on its own research.

The newspaper has video of croquette supplier assisting a healthcare institution in Utrecht with the transport of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. As healthcare institutions have to arrange transport between locations themselves, some transports are being done by companies with no experience with vaccine transportation, AD reported.

In at least one case, dozens of vaccines had to be destroyed when things went wrong with a transport. When vaccines were taken to Medisch Spectrum Twente, the vaccines were on the road for over three hours and were shaken, ending up lying on their sides or upside down, the newspaper wrote.

The trade association of pharmaceutical wholesalers was shocked by images of a caterer transporting vaccines. "That man is doing his best, but transporting a delicate vaccine is different from a croquette sandwich," a spokesperson said to the newspaper.

The healthcare institution involved, ZorgSpectrum in Utrecht, told AD that "all guidelines of the RIVM were met" in that transport. The caterer is also flabbergasted by the criticism. "I would be very sorry if something positive was turned into something negative. Everything went well with our vaccines. We clean our vans every day and the temperature is great," he said.

Nevertheless, the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate will demand stricter requirements for transporting coronavirus vaccines, spokesperson Mariel van Dam said to the newspaper. "Covid vaccines are scarce and if vaccines are no longer usable due to problems during transport, that is very undesirable."