Vaccines require continuous refrigeration to retain their efficacy as
most vaccine components are derived from mammalian or microbial origin
which are thermally unstable. Continuous refrigeration, known as the
vaccine cold chain, comes at a cost that directly correlates to the
standard of infrastructure that is available. A break in the cold chain
caused by poor infrastructure can result in direct loss of functionality
in these lifesaving medicines. Therefore, several approaches have been
suggested to mitigate these losses. Not only will these benefit general
healthcare via improved shelf-life but also enhanced resistance to
thermal fluctuations and, in some cases, improved drug target
localisation. In this minireview, we highlight trends in vaccine thermal
stabilisation and look to the future for cold chain logistics.