-
Important news
-
News
-
Shenzhen
-
China
-
World
-
Opinion
-
Sports
-
Kaleidoscope
-
Photos
-
Business
-
Markets
-
Business/Markets
-
World Economy
-
Speak Shenzhen
-
Health
-
Leisure
-
Culture
-
Travel
-
Entertainment
-
Digital Paper
-
In-Depth
-
Weekend
-
Newsmaker
-
Lifestyle
-
Diversions
-
Movies
-
Hotels and Food
-
Special Report
-
Yes Teens!
-
News Picks
-
Tech and Science
-
Glamour
-
Campus
-
Budding Writers
-
Fun
-
Qianhai
-
Advertorial
-
CHTF Special
-
Futian Today
在线翻译:
szdaily -> News -> 
Behind the scenes: how COVID vaccines get to you
    2021-04-07  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

SHENZHEN is pushing forward on its mass vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus. But how are the vaccines being stored, transported and distributed before citizens get the jab? A reporter with Shenzhen Special Zone Daily conducted a field visit Sunday, which might provide you with some answers.


At 2 a.m., a temperature-controlled vehicle loaded with inactivated COVID-19 vaccines drove into Sinopharm’s logistics center in Longhua District.


After unloading the vaccines, the staff of the center first checked the name, manufacturer, specification, batch number and validity period for the vaccine shipment, and then the temperature data of the vaccines for when they were in the warehouse and in transportation.


The staff must confirm that the vaccines have been stored consistently within the temperature range of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, and then be sent to a special vaccine warehouse with the same temperature range.


The Longhua warehouse has set up a special area to accommodate the storage of COVID-19 vaccines. Boxes of vaccines were placed on pallets to avoid direct contact with the ground, as that might affect the storage temperature of the vaccines.


“Each vaccine has a unique regulatory code, which needs to be scanned and verified when the vaccine leaves the warehouse and is used by medical workers for vaccination,” Wang Yan, a staffer of Sinopharm, told the Daily.


To ensure vaccine provision efficiency, the storage period of the COVID-19 vaccines in the warehouse is not long, according to Xie Xu, head of the immunization program of Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention.


“Each vaccination site has made a plan for vaccine usage one or two days in advance, and the vaccines are sent to the sites across the city via temperature-controlled vehicles,” said Xie.


Two thermometers are placed in each box containing the COVID-19 vaccines when they leave the warehouse.


Wu Minggui, a staffer with the warehouse, said that the thermometers are aimed at monitoring the temperature of the vaccines in real time, which is made possible through an online platform and a mobile phone terminal.


At 9:25 a.m., the COVID-19 vaccines arrived at the lobby of the Jingtian Community Health Center of Jingtian Hospital.


Chen Li, a doctor with the health center, carefully documented the temperature on the thermometers in the box, checked whether the outer package had leaked, put the vaccines in a special refrigerator and recorded information about the vaccines.


According to the cold chain record, it took two hours for this batch of vaccines to reach the Jingtian Community Health Center from the warehouse. During the transportation, the temperature of the vaccines was recorded every five minutes.


“We would refuse to accept the vaccines if the temperature is abnormal or the outer package has any leakage,” said Chen.  


(Zhang Yu)

深圳报业集团版权所有, 未经授权禁止复制; Copyright 2010-2020, All Rights Reserved.
Shenzhen Daily E-mail:szdaily@126.com