Will flu vaccine failure be weakened… ‘Army Three Star’ is responsible for convoy

As the government announced its plan to vaccinate against Corona 19, attention is being drawn to the delivery method of the vaccine. Some Corona 19 vaccines must be maintained at -60 to 90°C. Last year, some of the national vaccination flu (influenza) vaccines were exposed to room temperature during distribution.

According to the COVID-19 vaccination plan released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 28th, the first vaccine to be introduced in Korea is a vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca of the UK. Currently, some of these are being consigned to production (CMO) by SK Bioscience at the Andong plant in Gyeongbuk.

As such, domestically produced vaccines are moved to major distribution centers using refrigerated and frozen trucks. Vaccines manufactured overseas by Pfizer, Modena, and Janssen are transported to domestic airports and transferred to vehicles. The vaccines supplied to Korea by the international project (COVAX and COVAX) for joint purchase and distribution of AstraZeneca, Janssen and Pfizer vaccines and Corona 19 vaccines are distributed by SK Bioscience. SK Biosciences received a successful bid for 50.5 billion won for the construction and operation of the domestic distribution system for the Corona 19 vaccine. The distributor of modders or vaccines has yet to be determined.

The COVID-19 vaccine has more difficult transportation conditions than the flu vaccine. Influenza vaccine generally needs to be maintained at 2~8℃, average 5℃, but the corona 19 vaccine differs by vaccine. Vaccines from AstraZeneca and Janssen can be stored and distributed in a refrigerator (2~8℃), but vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Modena must be kept in a cryogenic environment of -60 to 90℃.

Corona 19 vaccines imported from home and abroad are managed by Dongwon Ipharm, an affiliate of Dongwon Pharmaceutical, and Korea’s cryogenics. The two companies are operating logistics warehouses that can store vaccines, especially cryogenic warehouses at -60 to 90 degrees Celsius.

Gtree B&T is in charge of the distribution and management of the vaccine. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said, “The military transport support headquarters will support personnel convoy and border services during the corona 19 vaccine transport process.” On this day, the Ministry of Defense appointed Deputy Chief of Staff Park Joo-gyeong (Lt. General) as the head of the’Corona 19 Vaccine Transportation Support Headquarters’.

The military and GTRIBNT have also established a system to monitor the distribution of vaccines nationwide. It is to check in real time whether the vaccine is out of the proper temperature or out of the distribution channel. M2Cloud, a venture company that provides medicine management services for hospitals and clinics, is in charge of this task. It is a method that measures the temperature in real time through a sensor attached to the vaccine transport container and the refrigeration tower. Last year, some borrowers and couriers seem to be trying to improve the problems that occurred in the distribution process, such as putting the vaccine container down on the ground at room temperature while transporting the flu vaccine.

When the vaccine arrives at the COVID-19 vaccination center, it goes into a cryogenic freezer. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to purchase 250 cryogenic freezers by subsidizing government subsidies to three companies, including Daehan Science, Ilshin Biobase, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

“A thorough distribution management system is the key to safe vaccination,” said Chung Eun-kyung, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Reporter Moon Hee-cheol [email protected]