Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential to include QR code technology on covid-19 vaccine packaging as a possible route to enable the quick export of surplus vaccines which are redirected to developing nations without the need to repackage those vaccines for the destination market; and if he will make a statement.

When distributing vaccines, our primary concern is that we do so safely.

Barcodes are currently used on COVID-19 packaging and labels; QR codes may also be used, for example in some regions of the world as part of anti-counterfeiting processes. In the UK, the use of a bar code or a QR code format for vaccine distribution is agreed during the vaccine manufacturer’s application for regulatory authorisation.

Barcodes provide an effective, commonly accepted and reliable label format to enable the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines when part of the regulated distribution system. Use of barcodes or the use of QR codes is not the limiting factor in distribution choices. Neither can avoid the planning or re-planning time needed to re-pack or re-label vaccines, if re-packing or re-labelling is required to meet the regulatory requirements for a recipient country.

In order to account for necessary regulatory requirements, we ensure the safe and controlled distribution of vaccines through planning, re-planning, and the use of available, safety-regulated global technologies.