Doses must be administered within 17 days at COVID-19 Special Centers

Everyone is looking at the COVID-19 vaccine. But it’s no secret that the hurdles don’t end with the approval of an effective coronavirus vaccine. Dose distribution is a delicate process that requires precise transport conditions and … speed. Alexandru Rafila, Romania’s representative at the World Health Organization (WHO), stated on Digi24 on Wednesday night that the vaccine lasts only 17 days from the time of production to the time of administration.

To reach Romanians safely and take effect, the vaccine must be handled with care and stored as follows:

• at temperatures of minus 80 degrees
• stored for 10 days on carbonated ice
• administered for the next 7 days

Furthermore, vaccinating millions of people involves a large number of syringes, medical personnel, but also special centers. The operation cannot be performed at the family doctor, as in the case of the usual vaccines.

Statements of Alexandru Rafila:

“Although the vaccine will be authorized in December, from the moment of authorization until the vaccination of the first-line patients – medical personnel, patients with comorbidities – it is a path that must be followed and a logistical organization that must be done. I would like to ask Mr Tătaru, instead of announcing these deadlines, I don’t know why December will be the month that this vaccine will be available in Romania, to think about the extraordinary logistics that must be developed “, says Alexandru Rafila.

This vaccine will require the organization, together with the Ministry of Defense and the Department of Emergency Situations, of vaccination centers. It is not possible for family practitioners to traditionally vaccinate people, because this vaccine lasts only 17 days from the time of production to vaccination. It should be kept at minus 80 degrees and kept in a bag of carbonated ice for only 10 days, and it should be given within 7 days. Or vaccinating millions of people in a short time is a great challenge. If we vaccinated 7 million people, we would need at least 14 million syringes, because it is a multi-dose vaccine and that requires extremely high logistics ”, he explains.

“It has been discussed in the United States, it is the biggest challenge in terms of organization probably after World War II, and the costs in the United States are estimated at at least 10 billion dollars. That is why the Minister must categorize the population that needs to be vaccinated immediately and establish the organizational areas of the vaccination centers, the logistics circuit and especially the personnel who will organize it, because without personnel all these things have no way out. of meaning ”, adds Rafila.