File photo used for representation only
The temperature-controlled system adopted to keep COVID-19 vaccines safe and effective has demonstrated the ability of Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) to rapidly deliver solutions under any circumstances.
As COVID-19 vaccines shipments started making their way around the world, the necessity for ultracold storage spiked including in Qatar. As part of the national immunisation response, PHCC’s Bio-Medical Engineering Department successfully institutionalised a 24/7 Cold Chain Management System across 27 PHCC health centers.
Moreover, a Cold Chain Management System was arranged in an offsite facility within a short period of 72 hours at the Qatar National Convention Centre where the COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Program administered 650,000 doses over four months last year with Zero Wastage of Vaccines attributed to any temperature excursions.
A cold chain is simply a temperature-controlled supply chain that aims to maintain the quality and efficiency of a vaccine from the production stage until the patient receives their dose.
To control temperature excursions and equipment breakdowns with an upgraded cold chain system with the latest technology suitable in a hot country is challenging, according to a study report titled ‘24/7 Cold Chain Management System by Primary Health Care Corporation to support the National COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Program,’ published on QScience, an online platform by HBKU Press.
“PHCC Cold Chain Management Ecosystem involves vaccine vials stored in pharmaceutical refrigerators with a temperature range between 2°C to 8°C and freezers with a temperature range between -10°C to -30°C and World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified iceboxes for short periods of transportation,” said the study paper published.
It described that PHCC institutionalised a continuous temperature monitoring system using a specific Temperature Monitoring Device (TMD) called a Digital Data Logger (DDL) mounted on cold chain medical equipment like pharmaceutical refrigerators, freezers, and the pre-qualified iceboxes of the WHO. The DDL devices were affixed to the medical equipment to monitor the temperature and are supported by sound alarm when there are temperature excursions. The DDL has a set point temperature measuring limit, measuring interval, and delay time defined for temperature monitoring.
“PHCC can rapidly deliver healthcare cold chain management solutions under any circumstances. To leverage economies of scale and utilise emerging technology, PHCC has envisioned a plan to migrate the cold chain medical equipment 24/7 temperature monitoring based on cloud services in 2022,” said the study conducted by Mesameh Al Qahtani, Mahmoud Mohsen Elserafy, Uday Kumar Thampi and Shajitha Thekke Veettil.
To recall, health officials had revealed earlier that international standards and procedures are followed in Qatar to store COVID-19 vaccines. A media statement said that Qatar has the facility to store both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
It said that from the moment of receipt, transport to warehouses and dispatch later to targeted health centers, the vaccine supplies are handled with utmost care and highest standards of storage to ensure their safety until vaccines are administrated to the public.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have different storage conditions. Pfizer-BioNTech COVID -19 vaccines must be stored at -70 degrees Celsius, +- 15 degrees until the expiry date. Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can be kept at a temperature 2-8 degrees Celsius, +- 5 degrees Celsius for a period of 5 days prior to administration.
