The Ministry of Health has started publishing bids for private contractors to procure and install refrigerators and vaccine carriers, which must be completed before Guyana receives its first quota of the COVID-19 vaccines next year.
Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony, said by mid-January, all of the cold storage spaces should already be created to match the specific temperatures of whichever vaccine is chosen by the COVAX Facility.
“We have done an evaluation, our engineers have gone out to each of these sites, looked at the space that we have and based on that we are now planning some expansions. We are hoping that by mid-January a lot of this physical space will be created,” Dr Anthony was quoted by DPI as saying.
Minister Anthony explained that the vaccines have specific storage temperature requirements.
The US drug company Moderna had announced that its vaccine, the mRNA-1273 from Biotech, could be stored in a standard refrigerator with temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (36 degrees to 46 degrees Fahrenheit) for 30 days.
The Pfizer vaccine, however, must be stored at very cold temperatures of minus 70 to 80 degrees. Measures are being put in place to ensure the country’s cold storage chain could accommodate either.
“So, while we do have some freezers in the public health system that runs at minus 20, we don’t have any of those minus 70 freezers, so we have to increase the physical space,” the Minister said.
Dr. Anthony noted that the refrigerators are just as important as the carriers as the vaccines must be transported in the same conditions as storage.
“We have a central facility in Georgetown, and several regional facilities and when we’re called to do immunisation in remote areas, we have containers that we use to ensure that we can take all these vaccines at the appropriate temperature. Our regional facilities, they’re located sometimes in areas where there isn’t any electricity, so, we have to be able to have a cold environment for keeping the vaccines safe.”
Minister Anthony said health workers were putting in a lot of work to ensure the process is progressing. However, he noted that other countries are also undergoing the same preparations and ordering the same equipment which may result in some delays.
Guyana is accessing its vaccines through the COVAX Facility, a global initiative that brings together governments and manufacturers to ensure eventual COVID-19 vaccines reach those in greatest need.
