Japan to secure 20,000 coronavirus vaccine freezers
As the country steps up preparations for their distribution, Japan intends to secure about 20,000 freezers for hospital storage of coronavirus vaccines, government officials said on Tuesday.
The government will buy deep freezers and distribute them nationally to medical facilities, with vaccinations scheduled to begin in the nation in late February, beginning with medical staff.
According to officials, the government will sign contracts with four freezer manufacturers, likely at the beginning of February, at an approximate cost of more than ¥10 billion.
Japan is set to receive 310 million vaccine doses from Pfizer Inc, Moderna Inc and AstraZeneca Plc with a population of about 126 million, enough for 157 million people.
The vaccine developed by the U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE must be stored at or below minus 75 C, while the vaccine developed by the U.S. biotech company Moderna Inc. can be distributed and stored for a period of six months if placed in a freezer at minus 20 C.
The vaccine produced by AstraZeneca in Britain and Oxford University can be stored in regular refrigerators.
Four producers — PHC Holdings Corp, Nihon Freezer Co, and EBAC Co, all located in Tokyo, and Kanou Reiki in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture — have been asked by the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Health to increase their production potential.
A total of 10,000 freezers manufactured by the four manufacturers will be used to store the Pfizer vaccine, which could be approved for inoculation in Japan in mid-February if all goes as expected, according to the officials.
It is estimated that another 10,000 freezers from the three Tokyo companies will store the Moderna vaccine, they said.
By late February, the government plans to deliver 1,500 freezers for the Pfizer vaccine to designated vaccination centers, 3,300 units by late March, and the remainder by late June.
As for the 10,000 units for storing the Moderna vaccine, according to the officials, a definite distribution plan has yet to be determined.
Source: Japan Today
