Governments across the globe are racing to immunise their populations against the infection, as they struggle to reboot national economies and restore normal life for their people.

But these efforts are complicated by the requirement for one leading vaccine, that developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, to be transported at a temperature of minus 70ºC.

Panasonic says its vacuum-insulated cold insulation box - Vixell - can maintain an environment of minus 70ºC for up to eighteen days.

Reports suggest that the company is preparing to make boxes available for testing in March.

This may coincide with the start of a planned mass vaccination programme in Japan, the country scheduled to host the postponed 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer.

While scepticism about its ability to do so has been rising steadily in recent weeks, IOC President Thomas Bach last week insisted there was "no reason whatsoever" to think the Olympics would not be staged from July 23 to August 8.

Billions of dollars of TV revenue for the international sports movement may hinge on organisers’ ability to execute an event to broadcasters’ satisfaction. 

While Panasonic’s exclusive product category under the IOC’s worldwide sponsorship programme consists of audio, TV and video equipment, the 102-year-old Osaka-based corporation has a long history in refrigeration and freezing technology.

Having started in 1918, with a two-way socket permitting the use of, say, a lamp and an electric iron from a single power outlet, the company’s first electric refrigerator came onto the market in 1953.

The company’s first Olympic involvement was at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, where it supplied a sound system and video display for the main stadium.

It joined the flagship The Olympic Partner (TOP) worldwide sponsorship scheme at the outset in 1987.

It is reported that the larger of the company’s portable boxes is capable of storing 5,000 doses of the vaccine.