Corona 19 vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German Bioentech. EPA Yonhap News
While Korea was lagging behind in the war to secure a new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) vaccine, the U.S. and the European Union (EU) began vaccination, led by the UK, but the vaccination rate in each country has been generally slow so far.
It is also because the supply of vaccines did not meet expectations due to problems such as the procurement of raw materials, but it is pointed out that it was neglected to establish infrastructure for vaccination. This is because vaccination is a problem that requires rebuilding the entire process into one system, from macroscopic issues such as step-by-step selection of vaccination targets as well as the supply and demand of disposable products necessary for the vaccination process.
We have reviewed the problems of the vaccination system related to the incidents and accidents that have occurred since the COVID-19 vaccination started on the 14th of last month (local time) in the United States. This is because it will soon come to Korea, which is waiting for a vaccine supply. Even among domestic experts, there are voices that the preparation of the vaccination system, which is more difficult to predict than the Corona 19 pandemic (a pandemic), must be completed before the vaccine arrives.
① Cut-in…”I’m not a medical person, but I get the vaccine”
On the 17th of last month, officials from Redland Community Hospital in California, USA, are raising their thumbs after receiving the first vaccine. Redland Community Hospital Facebook capture
“When I woke up in the morning, I didn’t think I could get the COVID-19 vaccine. But I got the vaccine and I’m very happy.”
On the 20th of last month, a 33-year-old woman from California, USA, posted a post on Social Network Service (SNS), which became controversial. This woman, known as a Disneyland employee, replied to a friend’s question, “how can I get vaccination because the public can’t get it yet,” she said, “because my mother-in-law is an important person at Redland Community Hospital.” This woman immediately deleted the post when it became controversial on social media and the media’s attention was focused.
According to the Daily Mail of the UK on the 28th of last month, some of the staff who are not working at the front line of Corona 19 also vaccinated the remaining amount of the Pfizer-Bioentech vaccine supplied to the medical staff of Redland Community Hospital. The hospital explained, “Because the Pfizer vaccine must be stored at minus 70 degrees and administered immediately after thawing, the valuable vaccine was not discarded and given to other staff.”
The storage and management of Pfizer vaccines can be considered very difficult. According to the UK Drug Administration (MHRA) guidelines, vaccines can be stored in a freezer at -80°C to -60°C or in an insulated container at -90°C to -60°C for up to 6 months. However, care must be taken not to be exposed to light. Frozen vaccines can be stored refrigerated at 2-8 degrees for 5 days after thawing. (It can be said that it was frozen in the freezer in the refrigerator and then moved to the refrigerator for refrigeration.)
After that, the actual inoculation should be done at room temperature, but at room temperature, if the inoculation fails within 6 hours, it should be discarded. In particular, if the temperature rises close to 25 degrees, you must inoculate within 2 hours. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee the effect.
Experts expressed concern over the case of a Disneyland employee, who exerts family influence, although it is appropriate to use all of the remaining vaccine supplies in consideration of a public health emergency. “Hospitals are obligated to make sure they are adequately and equitably fit, even if they are administering excess vaccine,” said Andrew Neumer Irvine, professor of public health at the University of California.
On the same day, New York State also announced that it would impose a fine of $1 million (approximately 1.1 billion won) on medical personnel who violate the vaccination sequence as cases of “vaccinating cut off” were reported one after another.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that healthcare workers and nursing home residents receive the vaccine first, but even front-line hospitals that are in charge of actual vaccination still have the power to decide who will receive the final vaccine.
Therefore, it seems that the Korean government should also have a priority management system in which places, and in what manner, medical workers and nursing facility residents who need vaccination prior to arrival of the vaccine. In mid-November of last year, before the distribution of the vaccine in the US, CNBC broadcast warned that “the vaccine distribution will suffer a great confusion, not because of a lack of vaccine, but because there is no plan.”
② Loose distribution network…”The doctor also moves 40 minutes by car to get the vaccine”
CNN’s news that points out the problem that the US vaccine distribution network is difficult to deliver to rural areas, not large cities. CNN capture
Pfizer vaccine must be stored and transported at an extremely low temperature of -70 degrees Celsius. Vaccines from production plants must travel hundreds of kilometers to inoculation sites such as hospitals and pharmacies, and hospitals at each level must also have cryogenic storage.
In particular, Pfizer’s vaccine contains 975 doses of vaccine in one shipping box. The problem is a rural area where one hospital cannot handle 975 servings. This includes Georgia, Utah, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
For this reason, in the coastal health district, which governs eight counties in Georgia, medical personnel had to travel 40 minutes by car to get the vaccine. Those who are busy with patient care couldn’t be away, so the vaccination rate was particularly low in this area.
CNN also introduced the case of Dr. Richard Bates, a Mid-Michigan Medical Center in Midland, Michigan, who drove six hours round trip to transport the vaccine. Dr. Bates, who delivered 130 doses of the vaccine to the staff of the hospital branch in Alpena, a city 240 kilometers from the Midland, said, “It was a great pleasure for the staff to get the vaccine as if handing a child to a childbirth.”
The US federal government has announced that it has signed an agreement to use pharmacy chains with nationwide sales networks such as CVS and Walgreen as a vaccination site. However, analysts say that the declaration that the pharmacy chain will become a distribution point is insufficient in a situation where the vaccine distribution network is not closely connected to rural areas. Many point out that the compensation for the use of facilities and employees of these private companies should be sufficiently discussed.
③Security… “Hospital staff, intentional neglect”
On the 29th of last month, in Fort Myers, Florida, USA, people trying to get the Corona 19 vaccine are waiting for their turn. When the amount of vaccines secured by the state of Florida stopped reaching all the elderly people over 65, local residents brought blankets and chairs to camp and waited for the vaccine. Fort Myers = AP Yonhap News
On the 30th of last month, at a hospital in Wisconsin, more than 500 doses of modder or Corona 19 vaccine were discarded.
An employee of the Aurora Medical Center deliberately put 57 bottles of modder or vaccine out of the refrigerator, which can inoculate 500 people. These vaccines, left at room temperature, are no longer usable.
The hospital considered the incident to have occurred due to a mistake, but recognized the employee’s intentional crime and fired the employee. The motive of the crime was not disclosed.
US media Forbes emphasized that “the vaccine distribution site must have a dedicated security staff to protect patients and staff, as well as crowd and traffic management,” he said. “Vaccine security is more than just protecting against theft.” “It is also an important security measure to train each delivery team on vaccine delivery and handling and safety requirements,” he added.
Kim So-yeon reporter [email protected]
You can also view the news Naver Et edited by the Hankook Ilbo.
