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On Christmas Eve, the first Swedish vaccine against COVID-19 (9,750 doses) left the Pfizer factory in the northern Belgian city of Puurs by truck.
– She left Belgium on Christmas Eve and is on her way, says Sweden’s vaccine coordinator Richard Bergström.
Transportation is surrounded by a lot of secrecy.
– It is a secret where they are right now on the roads. Only Pfizer knows. They have GPS monitoring and are monitored. There are special protection routines for valuable transports, so there are guards.
Richard Bergström is responsible for handling until the vaccine has crossed the Swedish border, the Swedish Public Health Agency takes over. No later than eight o’clock on the second day of Christmas, the vaccine must have been delivered to a secret location in Sweden, then repackaging to the regions begins.
– Before eight o’clock they must arrive at a secret place and from eight o’clock the personnel on duty must begin to repack. So the vaccine will arrive tonight or early tomorrow. Of course I know where it is going, but I can’t say that. The central warehouse is classified, says Richard Bergström.
– The first delivery is the size of two moving boxes.
Each box contains about 5,000 servings, divided into five boxes that look like pizza boxes. Each box contains 195 vaccine vials, each containing five doses, for a total of 975 doses. The vaccine is heat sensitive and comes with carbonated ice, frozen to minus 70 degrees.
Vaccination begins at Sunday and the first delivery is enough for just under 4,900 people. People in nursing homes go out first.
Half of the doses go directly to the regions, the other half is saved because each person who is vaccinated must take two doses. The Stockholm Region, the Västra Götaland Region and the Skåne Region receive 425 doses each, while the other 18 regions receive 200 doses each.
– They will try to keep the distribution secret for as long as possible. I imagine that a transport system has been established for regions where the same car that, for example, drives to Västerbotten passes Norrbotten, says Richard Bergström.
During the last week of this year another 80,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine will arrive in Sweden and the same amount will continue each week until more vaccines are approved. Regions get their share based on population and how many over 70s live in a region.
– Then, Pfizer will send the vaccine directly to the regions, says Richard Bergström.
A vaccine from the pharmaceutical company Moderna is expected to be the second to be deployed in Sweden, if the European Medicines Agency approves it on January 6 and the European Commission gives the go-ahead.
The Government’s goal is that all adults and all children belonging to a risk group are offered vaccination during the first half of 2021.
Pfizer’s vaccine was approved by the EU on Monday.
Read more:
This is how vaccination should go
Seven Questions Answered About Corona Vaccines
