State conducts test run to test vaccine distribution logistics

When Colorado receives its first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine next week, state officials don’t want anything to go wrong. So they decided to test the vaccine distribution first.

Pfizer Vaccine Received by Colorado Must be stored between minus 60 degrees Celsius and minus 86 degrees Celsius, Temperature range that requires a special freezer at ultra-low temperature. If you put it in a regular refrigerator, you should use it within 5 days. Without careful adjustment, the dose may expire and be wasted.

On Tuesday, the state tested its distribution protocol by bringing a simulated dose of Pfizer vaccine from Denver International Airport to Vail Health Hospital. This is one of eight regional hubs that the state has designated to receive vaccines within a few days. Each of those locations already has an ultra-low temperature freezer.

“Purpose [of the trial] “Finding areas of improvement before moving real items during a real incident,” said Micki Trost of the State Emergency Operations Center. “We definitely want to see if there is an area of ​​efficiency. Make sure the system and plan are working.”

The trial began with a DIA courier carefully placing a cardboard box filled with dry ice behind his little white car and embarking on a two-hour drive to Bale. When the actual vaccine arrives, Pfizer will contract with the USPS and FedEx to send it directly to the hub location, from which the state will deliver it locally using a courier.

“Once accepted by these hubs, it is really our responsibility to break them down into small quantities and distribute them to the local level,” said Brigadier General Scott Sherman of the Colorado Guard, who directs the State Vaccine Task Force. It was.

According to Sherman, the biggest challenge in distribution is to limit the shipment of vaccines to smaller hospitals, especially in remote states, with the right amount and time frame.

Colorado has also purchased 10 additional ultra-low temperature freezers that will be deployed as needed throughout the state to increase the capacity to store vaccines. According to Sherman, the first shipment in Colorado will include 46,800 shipments.

Leo Gomez, a courier company, one of the owners of Denver-based Swift Courier Services, said: “We have done all the collection of COVID tests at various facilities throughout Colorado, so it was definitely part of the solution and now we are returning the vaccine to them.”

Gomez’s company deals with medicine and medical devices, and COVID-19 vaccination is in many ways similar to transporting human organs, and human organs also move quickly and are stored at specific temperatures. I said I need to.

He also seems to be similar in importance. “The fact that we have to deliver the vaccine that everyone is looking for is definitely a valuable item for now.”

A Vail Health official said he was grateful for the ongoing support.

“The speed at which they did it is very impressive,” said Jessica Peterson, inpatient pharmacy manager at Vail Health. “I’m really looking forward to this being the beginning of the downtrend.”

The state’s mountain community became the epicenter of the virus in March. The first confirmed case of coronavirus in Colorado was recorded in Summit County, a California patient who skied on Vail and Keystone. Within a few weeks, Eagle County, where Bale is located, had the highest per capita infection rate in the state, with 168 cases per 100,000.

The hospital currently has two COVID-19 patients undergoing inpatient treatment. Peterson expects the ICU, emergency room staff, and those most likely to come into contact with COVID patients to receive the first dose of the vaccine within a few weeks of receiving the vaccine. Then, three weeks later, you will need a second shot.

“I think it was thoroughly tested, but I looked up and read a lot of the data myself.”

Despite the optimism of the people involved in the test run, Wilcook, CEO and President of Bale Health, warned that it was too early for people to be satisfied. “We are all excited about the potential of vaccines, but we must remain vigilant.” “We are still dealing with a pandemic,” he added. It was.