Kenya is expecting new ultra-cold chain storage facilities as part of preparations for the rollout of Pfizer vaccines.
Fifteen fridges are expected to come from the UPS Foundation of the US. An undisclosed number will also be received from the Japan government.
The cold chain storage facilities are to be distributed in the nine regional vaccines stores ready for the deployment of the Pfizer doses, which require extremely cold temperatures.
According to vaccines deployment taskforce chairman Dr Willis Akhwale, the equipment is to arrive on Monday.
Kenya is expecting 1.7 million doses of Pfizer mid next month from the US government through bilateral donations and another 271,440 doses allocated through the Covax facility.
“In view of these developments, the vaccine access challenges that we have been experiencing will no longer be an issue as we shall be distributing Covid vaccines to all parts of the country,” Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said.
“I urge all eligible persons to take the vaccine at our approved centres. Health workers, teachers, security officers, frontline workers, those aged above 58 years and those aged above 18 years with co-morbidities should go for the vaccine,” he added.
The freezers from the UPS Foundation are valued at more than Sh15 million.
“To manage traffic, all persons intending to get vaccinated are encouraged to first register on the online chanjo system.”
According to Kagwe, UPS Foundation will manage the transportation from the central store in Kitengela to the regional stores using special insulated devices from Pfizer known as softboxes.
The softboxes maintain ultra-cold chain temperatures using dry ice. The dry ice is needed to maintain proper temperatures in the thermal shipping container.
“It is important to note that once opened, Pfizer vaccines cannot be refrozen and when stored at 2 to 8 degrees they must be used within 28 days,” Kagwe said.
“The ministry has put in place mechanisms to ensure that there are no wastages of these vaccines. These mechanisms include training of health workers on vaccine management,” he added.
From the regional stores, these vaccines will be transported to selected vaccination posts at temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees centigrade as is common with other vaccines.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)
