• The team is responsible for calibration to ensure equipment give accurate readings
• Nearly all vaccines demand strict temperature controls as failure to makes them spoil
Image: CHARLENE MALWA
After taking a winding corridor that joins various blocks at the Kenya Bureau of Standards, Josephat Bangi ends up in a cold, air-controlled laboratory.
From the outside, it’s an unattractive block probably put up in the 1990s.
Inside are officers in white lab coats, keenly monitoring various contraptions.
These are some of the people who ensured Kenya was ready to receive the Covid-19 vaccine that arrive today.
“Vaccines are fragile products that must be stored at the exact temperatures given by the manufacturer,” says Bangi, the chief manager of metrology at Kebs.
“But how sure can you be that if a refrigerator shows it is 2 degrees, that is actually the case?”
This is where he comes in. The team is responsible for calibration to ensure all equipment give accurate readings.
Calibration is the process of comparing a reading on one piece of equipment or system, with another piece of equipment that has been calibrated and referenced to a known set of parameters.
Kebs is the region’s reference laboratory and ensures all calibrated equipment matches with international standards.
“This means 2 degrees in Kenya must be the same 2 degrees in the US, China or anywhere else,” he says.
Calibration helps in bringing the measurements to that level.
Nearly all vaccines demand strict temperature controls. The World Health Organisation says about half of the vaccines distributed around the world go to waste, mostly because of failure to properly control storage temperatures.
“Vaccines are very volatile. If the manufacturer recommends certain temperature, then even one degree off the required condition can affect their volatility. They can also be destroyed by light,” Bangi says.
He explains that with repeated use and over a period of time, all equipment begins to degrade, and that affects its accuracy and precision.
In the medical device industry, a drift in the measurement is unacceptable.
For instance, a defective device or improperly programmed IV pump might deliver an overdose of a medication that can significantly cause harm.
A cold chain that is not calibrated might also destroy a vaccine.
“So that means all machines must be calibrated. We recommend calibration as recommended by the manufacturer, or whenever you service or move any machine, then it must also be calibrated,” Bangi says.
He says Kebs works closely with the Ministry of Health to ensure Kenya’s cold chain of refrigerators and other storage systems work within the required measurements.
“We have also trained biomedical engineers within the ministry and at Kenyatta National Hospital and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospitals to be able to do calibration themselves,” he says.
Bangi says Kenya’s cold chain is regularly maintained to international standards and that should give Kenyans faith in the vaccine that arrives today.
Unlike the Pfizer vaccine that would pose a big challenge with distribution, requiring ultra-freeze conditions at -70°, the AstraZeneca vaccine only requires refrigerator temperatures of 2-8° C, and no special storage conditions.
Kenya has also been ramping up preparedness for the immunisation campaign in other aspects.
A recent WHO assessment ranked Kenya’s and other African countries’ average readiness at only about 33 per cent, significantly lower than the WHO benchmark of 80 per cent.
The national self-assessments evaluated vaccine country readiness based upon 10 key sets of indicators, including: planning and coordination, resources and funding, vaccine regulations, service delivery, training and supervision, monitoring and evaluation, vaccine logistics, vaccine safety and surveillance, communications and community engagement.
Image: FILE
Head of the Kenya vaccine rollout team Dr Willis Akwale said recently the country will need awareness campaigns to increase demand, and also train thousands of healthcare workers to help with the rollout.
The vaccination will begin after two weeks, targeting at least 1.25 million Kenyans by June.
During this period, frontline healthcare workers, all staff working in health facilities and workers offering essential services will be inoculated, with priority given to sectors such as security.
The Health ministry has also announced plans to build the capacity of more than 23,000 healthcare workers, including 8,000 health volunteers in areas of vaccine administration, logistics management, data capture and monitoring.
The second phase is expected to run from July 2021 to June 2022, during which 9.7 million more Kenyans will receive the jab, depending on availability of the vaccines.
The target population in this phase will be Kenyans aged above 50 years and those above 18 years with underlying health conditions.
Plans by the ministry show the third phase of the vaccination drive could run concurrently with the second phase, depending on availability of adequate vaccines, with the hope of reaching 4.9 million people, who will include all other vulnerable populations.
“It is important to note that if vaccines become available sooner than expected and resources are available, the targets may change,” Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said.
Edited by T Jalio