Summary – The article talks about the sudden burst in demand for medical freezers that are needed to store various samples. Here is why you should be worried and how best can you prepare yourself for the shortfall.
There has been a rise in demand for medical refrigerated, freezers and ultra-low temperatures freezer, especially during this COVID pandemic. The vaccine has been developed to treat COVID-19 pandemic. It needs a very low storage temperature which is much lower than any average medical freezer will be able to accommodate. This has created a rise in demand for ultra-low temperature medical freezers.
With the rise in demand for ultra-low temperature medical freezers, there has been a shortage of these freezers. Every lab today needs to upgrade its freezer. There is good news however in store for you. Even though there is a likely shortage there are still steps that you can take and stay prepared for the upcoming crunch in the supply of medical freezers and refrigerators.
COVID has created a hassle in the logistics
When the COVID pandemic had just started, there was a problem of shortage of masks and sanitizers. Every lab had to fight with each other to get the protective equipment. All these are pointing to a very harsh reality of a shortage in medical freezer supply soon. This is because the COVID vaccines have ultra-low storage to store the vaccine.
The medical freezer infrastructure that already exists lacks the features needed to store the new coronavirus vaccine. There is a need for freezers to store huge doses of the vaccine at a temperature of -70 degrees Celsius. There are other brands of the COVID vaccine that need an even lower temperature. It is required so that the vaccine does not get destroyed. The typical freezer used in hospitals does not reach that low temperature. If the labs are not able to source the ultra-low temperature freezers, then this will cause a huge mess in the disruption of the COVID vaccine.
There is already a lot of disruption that is being seen in the supply chain of medical freezers. Some have to wait for two months because of the surge in demand.
Are your medical freezer ready?
You may have some ultra-low temperature freezers to store biopsies and tissue samples. But these are not efficient to handle the workload of the COVID vaccine. Your freezer needs to operate at an extremely low temperature without costing a lot to operate.
Check to see if your medical freezer can offer a wide range of temperatures to as low as -85 degrees. The optimum performance of your freezer could be set at some range. It may not make it cold enough.
Your medical freezer should be able to work on the temperature required by the environment. You should not have to cool the atmosphere down to let the freezer function. In such a case, you will be paying extra to cool the environment around you to run the freezer.
Your existing freezer may still be using a compressor which can fail at any time. Compressors are also noisy. They cycle from the on to the off state to regulate the temperature. This causes the freezer temperature to fluctuate. It is the reason why labs are investing in new freezers. It can maintain a steady temperature without causing a complexity that is common in a freezer that is operated on a compressor. These freezers have an engine to regulate the temperature that reduces the maintenance cost for the facility.
Does your medical freezer take up a lot of space? Is it not sufficiently large to handle everything that needs to be stored? The new-age medical freezer design allows functioning more efficiently with a smaller size but more efficient motor. The small freezers come with engines that work seamlessly to reduce the cost of energy wastage.
Reasons why labs and hospitals are upgrading their medical freezers which is causing a shortage in supply
Thanks to the COVID vaccine there is a rush in the medical fraternity to upgrade their freezers. There is a need for new technologies and the latest innovative products where it is possible to achieve stability in temperature throughout the freezer. This means that the temperature stays the same throughout whether you measure it in the middle or in the corners.
Door open recovery is another added feature that lets the temperature recover fast in case of any minor disturbance.
Conclusion
The ultra low temp freezers are soon going to become a major part of the medical supply chain. With more and more medical and research centers looking to purchase the latest medical refrigerators, there is bound to be a shortage shortly. It is best to place your order soon before the others so that you do not get left out. Healthcare centers across the world are upgrading their freezers all at once so you need to act fast to get a head start. Waste no time and book your medical freezer today itself!
