From Stockpile to Patient: Preparing Vaccine Delivery Before an Outbreak

A vaccine stockpile’s value depends on how quickly its doses can reach the people who need them. For infection preventionists (IPs) and health system leaders, distribution planning is an essential part of outbreak preparedness. In this Q&A with Infection Control Today^® (ICT^®), David Dodd, CEO of GeoVax, discusses how storage requirements and reliance on single suppliers can complicate vaccine delivery. He also explains why regional manufacturing and preparation between outbreaks deserve greater attention.

ICT: Beyond efficacy data, what should a public-health agency weigh when deciding which vaccines go into a national stockpile? How should storage temperature, shelf life, and transport requirements be weighed against clinical performance, and where do agencies most often underestimate these factors?

David Dodd: First and foremost, it should be to ensure that an appropriate vaccine for the targeted stockpile indication is included; secondly, stockpiles should not be dependent on any one single-source supplier. Third, supply chain resilience of the vaccine should exist. Finally, stockpiled vaccines should be able to be distributed and utilized to targeted populations in a manner consistent with the region – eliminating cold chain supply requirements, multiple dosing, and other distribution/administration limitations. Currently, there is only a single-source supplier worldwide for the MVA vaccine, for which there is insufficient supply capacity, resulting in significant unmet demand. Such situations are unacceptable and should be addressed.

ICT: New preclinical research suggests some mRNA formulations could stay stable at room temperature for up to a year. If cold-chain requirements were relaxed, how would that change stockpiling and distribution planning in practice? Where would the biggest gains in cost, access, and response time come from: storage, last-mile delivery, or replenishment cycles?

DD: It’s most important to recognize that, while this information is promising, it hasn’t been fully confirmed. Already, there exist vaccine platforms/technologies that don’t require such cold chain requirements. MVA is an example. Also, the administration/delivery of vaccines via microarray patches appears to eliminate cold chain requirements.

The GeoVax GEO-MVA vaccine (mpox/smallpox vaccine) candidate is currently undergoing validation of delivery via a micro-array patch, intended to enable distribution without cold-chain supply requirements and to provide simpler needle-free administration.

With the recently announced single-dose MVA (“MVA-X”), presented at the World Vaccine Congress Europe (10/19/26), the MVA vaccine is progressing toward a single-dose, non-cold-chain-supply-requirement format, delivered in a micro-array patch.

ICT: How important is regional manufacturing capacity to outbreak readiness, and what does it take to scale production quickly once an outbreak is declared? What bottlenecks, such as raw materials, fill-finish capacity, or a trained workforce, tend to slow scale-up even when a vaccine is already approved?

DD: Regional/local manufacturing is critically important to achieving self-sufficiency and vaccine administration equity, especially in low- and middle-income regions worldwide. Such self-sufficiency will enable preparedness and vaccine supply resilience, which is largely lacking today in LIM regions.

The GeoVax AGE1 continuous cell line MVA manufacturing process, recently reviewed at the World Vaccine Congress Europe (10/19/26), highlighted the critical importance of focusing on developing and enabling technologies and processes, working in collaboration with LIM regions, to achieve and ensure vaccine self-sufficiency.

Currently, LIM regions are dependent on external distributors and, at most, local/regional fill-finish operations. This continues to limit the preparedness and responsiveness of such regions. This situation will dramatically improve through the implementation of initiatives such as SAVE (Serving Africa through Vaccine Equity), led by GeoVax and working in conjunction with LIM nations, NGOs, and other stakeholders.

ICT: Why does it matter for governments to qualify multiple suppliers for the same countermeasure? What risks does relying on a single manufacturer create, and how can agencies build supplier redundancy without driving up costs or fragmenting procurement?

DD: Procurers (eg, governments and NGOs) need to avoid dependency on a single supplier whenever necessary to ensure a robust, resilient supply chain, capable of medical countermeasure preparedness and timely response. Waiting to address such situations during an outbreak, epidemic, etc., isn’t a viable solution.

Funding entities need to support preparedness and meet needs during such challenging times, focusing on a multi-supplier, robust, resilient, preparedness-focused supply chain. This should focus on addressing the timeliness of product delivery, distribution, and administration as necessary, while also recognizing that a multi-supplier supply chain will provide a more economically responsive system.

ICT: For IPs and health-system leaders on the receiving end of a stockpile deployment, how do vaccine logistics shape what happens at the facility level during an outbreak? What should hospitals and health departments be doing now, such as storage capacity, staff training, or distribution agreements, so they can move quickly when doses arrive?

DD: Preparedness planning, training, protocols, and responsiveness training, coordinated throughout the ecosystem, are all necessary and required to ensure successful deployment and administration.

Currently, activities are underway to address all such elements and heighten the likelihood and expectation of successful global, local, and site preparedness, response, and activities when needed. Again, the time to prepare is between outbreaks, establishing, refining, and ensuring capabilities in support of such medical countermeasures.