Kickstart: The very long supply chain for vaccines

I think it's fair to say that there are a lot of questions and concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, especially around the issue of how long it will be until we (or our loved ones) can get their shot.

As reporter Sarah Kominek writes, the issue behind that question is very big. There's the production capacity at drug companies and issues related to distribution by individual states or counties. Beyond that, there's the manufacturing of syringes that is seeing Becton, Dickinson & Co. expand production and Florida injection molder National Molding LLC working overtime for its production of tamper-evident seals for liquid injectable vials, for just two items.

"This is no small task — to produce a billion devices in the next 12 months equates to nearly 2,000 devices every minute on top of BD's normal volumes to fully support routine health care needs," BD officials said.

Obviously, there is more than a drug manufacturer involved.

I was reminded of the range of plastics in the vaccination process as a friend was sending photos while she visited the University of Michigan football stadium for her second shot. Yes, U-M has turned the stadium into a vaccination center. It updates its progress on the scoreboard. (I'm not above asking this friend to take a photo of the scoreboard while she was there. You'll see it in this week's print issue.)

She also sent along photos of some of the other roles plastics are playing in the process, from signage to boxes and boxes of sharps containers to hold all those used syringes.

So while we're waiting for our turn, we can also take the opportunity of thinking just how complicated the whole process is, and the many, many plastics manufacturers involved that operate outside the spotlight.

No one likes to admit they made a mistake. But when that mistake involves 2 tons of shredded plastic scrap ending up in the ocean, someone is going to notice.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has cited dock operators along Maine's Penobscot Bay for failing to notify anyone that two bales of scrap — shipped from Northern Ireland to Penobscot Energy Recovery Co., a waste-to-energy incinerator in Orrington, Maine — slipped into the water when they were being transferred to shore on Dec. 2.

The port operators dispatched people to monitor for debris along the shore, but did not let authorities know. The DEP got involved when people at a nearby island saw the shredded plastic on the beach, a week later.

Plastic wrapping around the bales helped keep much of the material intact, and the company recovered the bales in late December.

Sprague Operating Resources LLC has been ordered to develop better procedures to keep plastic scrap out of the water and to report any other spills.

NPE2021 won't be happening, but we know companies still have new products and processes to introduce, so Plastics News is planning the nonshow Plastics Showcase.

As Don Loepp writes, the Showcase, starting in April, will be a space for machinery makers, materials companies, auxiliary suppliers, tooling suppliers and everyone else to show off their business news, product announcements, share how your company is doing, how you survived the pandemic, and how the emphasis on circularity is impacting your future plans.

We're preparing a survey at www.plasticsnews.com/showcase, where you can tell us everything you need to know. You can also send news releases and high-resolution photos to Don at [email protected].