The AstraZeneca vaccine, which departed from the Gtree B&T distribution center in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, arrived at the Gwonseon-gu health center in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the morning of the 25th, and is departing for the next delivery area. Photo Sharing Foundation
On the 25th, when vaccination for the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) was approaching, the nationwide delivery of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine began. The vaccine delivered that day will be vaccinated at 9 o’clock on the 26th in 17 cities and provinces nationwide.
At 8:48 am, a white 1 ton truck entered the public health center in Gwonseon-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, escorted by police and military police vehicles back and forth. It was a truck containing a vaccine that was shipped from the SK Bioscience factory in Andong, Gyeongbuk on the 24th, and sorted and packaged overnight at the Icheon GTR B&T distribution center, a distribution center specializing in pharmaceuticals.
An official wearing a yellow vest that reads’COVID-19 Vaccine Safe Transportation’ carefully transferred the vaccine. In the blue box containing the vaccine, phrases such as’refrigerated medicine’,’storage temperature 2-8′, and’handling caution’ were written on it. The vaccination officer at the public health center, who was waiting in a white gown, received the vaccine and moved to the vaccination room on the first floor of the public health center to check the condition and put it in a refrigerator dedicated to the vaccine.
The vaccine-only refrigerator can be monitored for 24 hours and is equipped with an auto call (automatic contact) function, so when there is an abnormality such as temperature abnormality, an alarm is sent to the person in charge. Keep the refrigerator temperature between 3 and 4 degrees. Vaccination is scheduled to start at 9 am on the 26th at the public health center in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon. Facility workers who are subject to vaccination are scheduled to receive an appointment and inoculate 10 people at a time. However, in order to comply with the quarantine rules of social distancing, it is expected that the first vaccination will be completed in mid-March as it is not possible to inoculate a large number of people at once.
The delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine will continue until Sunday, the 28th. A total of 785,000 people (1.57 million servings) are delivered to about 1,900 places including public health centers and nursing hospitals nationwide.
Lee Jong-wook, head of the Gwonseon-gu health center, said, “Many citizens often visit by inquiring about when they can get the vaccine to recover their daily life by getting the Corona 19 vaccine quickly,” he said. I think the health authorities and the government should respond actively.”
He added, “I think it can be operated well without getting rid of influenza and other essential vaccinations at public health centers,” he added. “I will closely observe and respond to adverse vaccine reactions during vaccination.”
A transport vehicle carrying AstraZeneca (AZ) Corona 19 vaccine arrives at the Gwonseon-gu public health center in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do on the morning of the 25th. The vaccine that has arrived here is enough to inoculate 500 people. News 1
The vaccine delivery process was not smooth. Originally, six trucks to deliver vaccines nationwide departed every 10 minutes from 5:30, and all trucks were planning to leave the distribution center at 7:00, but the time required for each truck was 10 minutes longer than expected and the schedule was 2 hours. It was pushed over. An official from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explained, “It was the first delivery, so the schedule was slightly delayed as the vaccine distributor thoroughly checked and handled it carefully.”
On that day, a total of 55 trucks departed to public health centers and nursing hospitals nationwide. In preparation for an accident, 10 spare vehicles were deployed in major delivery sections by city and province.
A 1 ton freezer loaded with the Corona 19 vaccine (3,900 doses) to be inoculated to Jeju residents arrived at the Jeju City Health Center in the morning of the 25th, and officials from the health authorities are transferring the vaccine to the freezer in the drug storage room. Provided by Jeju Island. yunhap news
Some vaccines were recovered outside the proper temperature range during the transfer process. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that 3,900 doses of vaccine to be vaccinated on the afternoon of the 24th were shipped from the distribution center in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do through a freezer, but the entire amount was recovered outside the proper temperature range during transportation and another vaccine was sent again. Initially, the vaccine for Jeju was planned to arrive at the Mokpo ferry terminal at 11 pm on the 24th and be sent to Jeju using a ferry at around 1 am on the 25th.
However, by the time the AZ vaccine, which had to be transferred at room temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, left the outer part of Icheon, the temperature of the vehicle’s transport container once fell to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and eventually had to be recovered and sent a new vaccine again. The new vaccine was barely loaded 30 minutes before the departure of the ferry Queen Genuvia, leaving Mokpo Port at 1 am and arriving at Jeju Port at around 6 am. The Agency for Disease Control and Prevention decided to announce later whether or not to discard the recovered vaccine.
Reporter Lee Tae-yoon [email protected]
