Vaccine Courier

A vaccine is two regulated things at once - a temperature-sensitive consignment and a medicinal product - and a carrier that is vague about the second is the wrong carrier for the first. So the limitation comes before the capability on this page. T&C Logistics is not an MHRA-licensed wholesale dealer and holds no Good Distribution Practice certification. We operate GDP-compliant transport processes under customer quality agreements, which means we will work to the requirements your quality system places on a carrier, and where a consignment requires full GDP authorisation the job is coordinated with GDP-certified partner carriers. What we do run is the cold chain itself: 2-8°C in a dedicated vehicle pre-cooled before collection, ambient controlled at 15-25°C, frozen at -18°C and below, and deep-frozen on dry ice.

What does T&C Logistics hold, and what does it not?

Held and checkable: an Operator's Licence, Driver CPC, ADR driver certification, GDPR compliance, goods-in-transit and public liability insurance, and a ULEZ-compliant fleet. Not held, and not claimed: MHRA wholesale dealer authorisation, Good Distribution Practice certification, and any NHS framework position.

The distinction worth understanding is between a credential and a process. We will work to the temperature band, documentation, handover rules and excursion reporting your quality agreement specifies — that is a process we can accept and evidence. What we cannot do is stand in place of an authorisation: if your licence conditions require a GDP-certified carrier, the consignment needs one, and the job goes to a partner with the paperwork reflecting who actually carried it. The full held list is published on our licences page so it can be checked at qualification stage, which is the right time.

What temperature do vaccines travel at?

Most at 2-8 °C, which is the standard refrigerated band for the great majority of products. A small number need deep-frozen carriage well below -18 °C, and that travels on dry ice rather than on mechanical refrigeration.

We carry to the figure the product's own storage requirement specifies and do not interpret or round it. Specify the band and tolerance in writing at booking rather than in conversation at the door — "refrigerated" is not a specification, and neither is "cold".

Why does a dedicated vehicle matter for a cold chain?

Because every transfer is a temperature event that does not appear on a delivery note. A shared-load or network service moves the consignment between vehicles at a hub, and each move means doors open, time on a dock, and a different compartment at a different setting.

A dedicated run has one vehicle, one compartment and one setting from collection to delivery, which removes the category of failure rather than reducing its likelihood. The limit of that claim, stated plainly: a dedicated vehicle removes the transfers; it does not make the journey a validated process. Validation is a quality-system activity, and if yours requires validated, qualified transport then it requires a carrier qualified to that standard.

Is the vehicle cooled before it collects?

Yes — pre-cooled to the band on its way to the collection, not after loading. A compartment brought down to temperature with the consignment already inside has already exposed the product to whatever it was before, which defeats the exercise.

The sequence is: the vehicle runs to the set band en route, doors stay shut until the goods are at the door, loading happens in one movement rather than in stages, and the compartment is not reopened until delivery. On a multi-drop the order is planned so the compartment opens as few times as possible — which sometimes means a less efficient route and a better cold chain, and we will tell you which we have chosen. Pre-cool takes real time, so a refrigerated vehicle cannot be summoned quite as instantly as a general van; we build it into the quoted window.

Who is responsible for packaging and pre-conditioning?

You are, as consignor. We supply no packaging: the validated container, the coolant, any pre-conditioning of gel packs and the data logger are all prepared at your end, and a consignment presented at the wrong temperature cannot be corrected by the vehicle.

Your logger travels with the consignment and is yours to read — we do not substitute our own device or interpret its output. That division is deliberate: the product's stability data, the container's qualification and the acceptance criteria are all yours, and a carrier offering a view on any of them is offering something it is not placed to give.

What happens if the temperature goes out of range?

You are told immediately and in writing, and nothing is quietly delivered as though it had not happened. An excursion that is reported is a product decision for you to make; one that is concealed is a product you cannot trust again.

What we will not do is offer an opinion on whether the product is still usable — that is your quality function's call against its own stability data, not a carrier's. So the single most useful thing to agree before the first booking is the procedure: who we contact, by what route, and what we do with the consignment while you decide — continue, hold at a stated location, or return to origin. Settling that in the quality agreement rather than mid-journey is the difference between a controlled deviation and an improvised one.

Can you carry dry ice for deep-frozen products?

Yes. Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide and travels under ADR as UN1845, where the practical requirement is ventilation rather than refrigeration — a sealed compartment accumulating carbon dioxide is the hazard, not the cold.

We carry ADR classes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 with ADR-certificated drivers, and do not carry Class 1 explosives or Class 7 radioactive material. For a dry-ice consignment we need the quantity of dry ice as well as the product at booking, because that quantity determines the ventilation and the handling. The consignor packs and declares it; we verify against the declaration. See dry ice and hazardous goods.

Who may sign for a vaccine delivery?

Whoever your quality agreement names, and nobody else. We deliver to a named person with a signed, timestamped handover; nothing is left, posted through or handed to a general reception if the agreement says otherwise.

This causes more failed deliveries on this kind of work than temperature does. A vehicle arriving correctly, on time and at the right band, to a practice where the named recipient is at lunch and nobody else is authorised, has to hold or return the consignment. So give us the recipient, a deputy and a phone number at booking, plus an instruction for what to do if neither is available — that instruction determines whether an hour is lost or a day.

Who uses this service?

Practices, clinics, occupational-health providers, pharmaceutical wholesalers and research sites, mostly for movements that fall outside a scheduled distribution round: a transfer between sites, a stock rebalance, a clinic that has run short, or a consignment that missed a delivery window.

Scheduled wholesale distribution under a licence is generally the partner-carrier case rather than ours, and we will say so at enquiry stage rather than after a booking exists. For the broader clinical picture see pharmaceutical courier, medical logistics and temperature-controlled transport.

Can you run a scheduled route rather than one-off jobs?

Yes, and for a regular movement a standing run is better than ad hoc booking for reasons beyond price: the same vehicle class each time, the same driver where possible, and a route whose compartment openings are planned rather than improvised are all easier to evidence than a sequence of one-off jobs.

To set one up we need the days, the collection and delivery windows, the band, the typical consignment size and the named recipients at each stop. One caveat follows from the first section: a standing route does not change which authorisation applies, so if the stock requires a GDP-certified carrier the run is a partner's rather than ours, scheduled on the same basis.

What does vaccine transport cost?

From £50 (ex VAT) at the smallest end, quoted as one fixed price for the whole dedicated job before booking. Final price depends on distance, vehicle, urgency and time - quoted in full upfront before you book.

See the pricing page and GDP-certified pharma courier for the partner-carrier route.

What insurance applies, and how do I start?

Goods-in-transit cover of £50,000 per consignment, extending to £1,000,000 through partner carriers where the value requires it, plus public liability of £1,000,000. Limits and exclusions are in our terms, and the one to note is consequential loss: the cover responds to the consignment, not to a clinic rescheduled or a batch written off.

1. Call 0121 720 3841 for the office or +44 7963 400173 for dispatch. Enquiries are taken around the clock and answered between 06:00 and 22:00, seven days a week.
2. Say which of your requirements are operational and which are regulatory — that decides whether the job is ours or a partner's.
3. Specify the band and tolerance in writing, and confirm the container is validated and pre-conditioned.
4. Name who may receive, a deputy, and what to do if neither is available.
5. Agree the excursion procedure: who we contact and whether the consignment continues, holds or returns.
6. Accept the fixed price and a vetted driver-partner from our 3,000-plus network is assigned.

T&C Logistics Ltd is Companies House number 16838210. Related: pharmaceutical products, medical samples, GDP logistics and healthcare logistics. Or request a quote online. Google Reviews rating 5.0★.