On November 10, even as the world enthused over the possible introduction of a Covid vaccine courtesy US drug major Pfizer and BioNTech, whose mRNA-based vaccine had logged 90 per cent efficacy in Phase 3 trials, many smaller players in India’s challenged health ecosystem wondered if they could ever be a part of the rollout of this vaccine in India. Why? Because most small hospitals—and some larger public hospitals too—usually have cold chain facilities for vaccine storage capable of maintaining temperatures of 2-8 degrees Celsius. The Pfizer vaccine BNT162, however, needs to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius or below to last up to six months. In standard fridges, it has a lifespan of five days.
For developing nations, setting up infrastructure for extreme cold chain storage will be a major challenge. Facilities without appropriate freezers will have two options: i) store them in regular fridges and use all 975 doses in each container in less than five days; ii) restock them with ice and open them less frequently to increase the effective lifespan of the vaccines. The vaccine being developed by Moderna, which is based on similar technology, does not need to be stored at such low temperatures. Interestingly, the government’s current blueprint for vaccine distribution involves schools and anganwadi centres as vaccination points, neither of which will have anything beyond everyday refrigerators.
Esta historia es de la edición November 23, 2020 de India Today.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición November 23, 2020 de India Today.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
The Age Of Influencers
A Tribe Of Young, Educated Internet Warriors Is Shaping Public Opinion With Curated Videos On Social Media Platforms
Will Naveen Make Or Be History?
The BJD Patriarch Faces His Fiercest Challenge Ever As A Determined Bjp Works To Stymie His Bid To Become India's Longest-serving Chief Minister
Scoring a Century
Manoj Bajpayee has just acted in his 100th project-Bhaiyya Ji
FRAGMENTED RUINS
A new exhibition at Gallery XXL, Mumbai juxtaposes the artworks of an Indian and a Spanish artist
United by Art
Moments in Collapse, SAHMAT's group exhibition at Jawahar Bhawan in Delhi brings together artworks with politically charged themes
In Her Mother's Voice
Vidya Vox's exuberant new EP, Sundari, is primarily in Tamil as a tribute to her mother
"MURDER, HE WROTE"
Ashutosh Rana and Vijay Raaz shine in JioCinema's Murder in Mahim, a web series based on Jerry Pinto's layered crime novel
FLAGRANT VIOLATIONS
Gujarat sees another major tragedy as businesses flout safety norms and officials look away. This time it's 33 lives lost in a blaze at a gaming zone
THWARTED FRANCHISE
Robertsganj, on the southeastern tip of Uttar Pradesh, is a study in how a coalition of other castes often defeats the aspirations of the majority caste among Dalits-in constituencies reserved for the Scheduled Castes
THE LAST FRONTIER
PURVANCHAL HOSTS THE BIGGEST STAR CANDIDATE IN INDIA: NARENDRA MODI IN VARANASI. THAT MAY BE A NO-CONTEST, BUT CRAFTY CASTE PLAY BY THE SP-CONGRESS POSES A CHALLENGE IN THE OTHER DOZEN SEATS