Africa-Press – Uganda. The National Medical Stores (NMS) has said it has the capacity to handle and avail the 2,321,350 doses of Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines.
The two vaccines require very low storage temperatures. Pfizer requires ultra-low storage temperature of -80 degrees centigrade and Moderna (-20 degrees centigrade), unlike AstraZeneca and Sinovac, which can be stored at a normal refrigerator temperature of two to eight degrees centigrade.
Observing the storage temperature specification is essential for the vaccine to remain effective, according to manufacturers and experts.
Mr Moses Kamabare, the NMS general manager, told this newspaper yesterday that they have a clear plan to store and deliver the vaccines.
“The storage and delivery temperature for Pfizer is colder than Moderna. When they come, they tend to be the same temperature, but when they are used in the field, Moderna can be used outside of those very cold conditions for a longer period than Pfizer. That is why Moderna can be used outside of Kampala but for Pfizer, we have a limit to use,” he said.
Mr Kamabare said they have enough storage for “five million doses of -80 degrees centigrade” vaccines and that right now, they “only have two million [doses], which is less than half of the capacity at NMS.”
About deployment to vaccination centres, he said: “We will be taking them [the Pfizer vaccines] in our trucks at that temperature to those places in Kampala where they will be scheduled so they will be getting from the truck, vaccinate and bring back [the remaining].”
According to information from the US Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), upon removing the vaccine from the ultra-low storage temperature and thawing, mixed vaccines for use can be kept between “2⁰C and 25⁰C” and administered within six hours. But the health worker should “discard any unused vaccine after six hours. Do not return to freezer storage.”
Dr Diana Atwine, the Ministry of Health permanent secretary, said they will be doing campaigns to mobilise people for the vaccination.
Dr Alfred Driwale, the country’s head of immunisation programme, said they will deploy Pfizer next Monday in Kampala Metropolitan Area.
The government has, on separate dates, received 1,674,270 doses of Pfizer and 647,080 doses, which total 2,321,350 doses, all through donations from the government of the United States of America.
Dr Immaculate Ampaire, the deputy manager for the country’s immunisation programme, said “distribution will be beyond” Kampala because “Moderna fits in routine cold chain requirement for the oral polio vaccine [which is used countrywide].”
Information from the US CDC indicates that at the point of administering, the Moderna vaccine should be kept at “between 2°C and 25°C for up to 12 hours.” This is a relatively high temperature that can be managed.
Mr Kamabare said the plans to improve capacity to handle such vaccines upcountry is there but the other challenge is that Pfizer and Moderna are more expensive [to store] than the other types.
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