IU Health Methodist hospital adds subzero storage for COVID-19 vaccine
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Two ultralow freezers — commonly known as chillers that can store goods at minus-112 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus-80 degrees Celsius — are in the basement of IU Health Methodist hospital among other freezers and vaccine storage shelves.
The ultralow freezers were repurposed to hold Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, which is expected to come before the end of December. The freezers can store up to a half a million doses of vaccine.
Tate Trujillo, IU Health director of pharmacy and clinical nutrition, was unsure how many doses of the coronavirus vaccine that the hospital will receive but he knows it will be more than one brand.
Trujillo said IU Health is expecting both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which comes with challenges considering they have different storage requirements. So far, because of the ultralow freezers, plans for the Pfizer product are all figured out, but he said they are still working out final details on Moderna’s vaccine.
“As we are projecting with Moderna product, I’m still, like, do I have enough freezer space. It’s not a product I normally carry so we still have to make those assessments,” Trujillo said.
He said, besides the extra-cold temperatures, COVID-19 vaccinations aren’t much different from any others. “You wear some gloves to take out the product, and the Pfizer it goes from out of here, it can get thawed at room temperature or it can be thawed in a refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours. So we still have to do a thawing process just like we would any product at home.”
Vaccine storage has been a concern for health care professionals from the start, and Trujillo said now that IU Health has that part accomplished, the rest will be up to the community.
“Kind of the interesting question is, is this light at the end of the tunnel? For me, light at the end of the tunnel will be when I see people standing in line waiting for vaccine,” he said.
The general public may not get vaccinated until early next year.
Indiana State Department of Health reported Tuesday that 5,447 additional Hoosiers have tested positive for COVID-19, for a total of 392,663. In addition, the state recorded 124 more deaths, putting the Indiana death toll from the coronavirus at 6,109.