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7,200 doses of Corona Moderna vaccine are stored at minus 20 degrees
© WHAT
Less than a week after the second corona vaccine was approved in Europe, the first vaccines from the American pharmaceutical company Moderna were delivered to Austria. 7,200 cans were stored in a pharmaceutical distribution in Lower Austria. According to Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens), another 10,000 doses will arrive at the end of January. There are a total of 200,000 pieces available for the first quarter.
The active ingredient was shipped directly to Austria from Belgium. At 7:00 am the farm reached its destination. Each country has a central warehouse, Austria’s is in Lower Austria and is operated by Kwizda Pharmahandel. With the doses delivered in the first quarter, “100,000 people in Austria can be vaccinated against Corona by the end of March. Another 690,000 doses will follow in the second quarter, so Moderna also represents an important pillar of our vaccination plan in the phase most important vaccination program in the first half of the year, “Anschober said.
According to Biontech / Pfizer, the vaccine is also an mRNA vaccine. The “m” stands for messenger and “RNA” for ribonucleic acid (translated: ribonucleic acid; note). They are the first vaccines of their kind approved for humans. The genetic material of the virus components is injected. The cells of the immunized are supposed to produce these virus proteins. These antigens, in turn, should ultimately lead to an immune response. The efficacy study published Dec. 30 in the New England Journal of Medicine showed a 94.1 percent success rate with Moderna. There was a one hundred percent protection rate in preventing serious disease courses.
As with Biontech / Pfizer, Moderna’s vaccine must be strongly cooled. However, Moderna only needs to be stored at minus 20 degrees, while Biontech / Pfizer must be stored at minus 70 degrees. “We have enough capacity,” said Albert Dlaska, head of the Kwizda warehouse from where Moderna vaccines are distributed centrally. And these could also be started. However, fast delivery of the cans is expected. “We are trying to get the vaccines back quickly as soon as they are available,” Dlaska said.
A controlled thawing process takes 48 hours, emphasized Thomas Brosch, managing director of Kwizda Pharmahandel and a member of the board of Austrian Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (PHAGO). “During the thawing process, the vaccines should not be exposed to vibrations and then should be delivered in a controlled manner two to eight degrees higher. During these 48 hours, we also contact the vaccination centers and clarify exactly how many are needed, where they are being delivered and by whom. the contact person is, “Brosch reported.” Once the vaccine has been removed from the freezer, it can no longer be frozen. “
Then the thawed cans must be inoculated within a certain time. With the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine, you would have 120 hours or five days for this. At Moderna, you have a slightly higher margin of 30 days, Brosch explains. “That is much longer.” According to the recommendation of the granting authority, the two partial vaccinations of Moderna should be carried out with an interval of 28 days.
The EU has obtained 160 million cans of Moderna for the current year. In other countries, such as the United States or Canada, the vaccine is already vaccinated.
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