CHENNAI: The State government has sought more cold storage equipment from the Centre, for storage and distribution of Covid-19 vaccine. Noting that they are prepared for the vaccine distribution, Health Department officials told Express, “The government has written to the Centre seeking 1,144 ice lined refrigerators, 992 deep freezers, 10 walk-in coolers, 10 walk-in freezers and 10 refrigeration vaccine vehicles.”
At present, the vaccine being developed by Pune-based Serum Institute of India is the front runner for securing public distribution approval.“The Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC) has 51 walk-in coolers at 32 locations with a combined storage capacity of 1.2 million litres,” TNMSC managing director Dr P Umanath told Express. There are 2,685 cold chain points also in the State, he added.
The equipment already available with the State include 5,448 cold chain facilities, 15-walk in freezers, 2,769 ice-lined refrigerators and 2,661 deep freezers. “Moreover, 24 government medical colleges, 303 government hospitals, 2286 private health centres and 27 private medical colleges are equipped with cold storage facilities,” officials further said.
According to Public Health Director Dr TS Selvavinayagam, the State has already identified 47,000 vaccine centres. Industry experts say proper planning is required for safely transporting the vaccines. “The government could tie up with dry ice manufacturers to procure large quantities of ice required to protect the vaccine vials during transportation,” said V N Vijayakumar, Executive Director of Sigcil, a leading manufacturer of dry ice.