Hospitals in Maryland have been quick to order freezers and dry ice in preparation to distribute a vaccine like Pfizer's that requires ultra-low temperatures, The Baltimore Sun reported.
Pfizer reported Nov. 18 that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, requiring storage at about minus-90 degrees Fahrenheit, was 95 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 infections.
LifeBridge Health in Baltimore ordered three ultra-low temperature freezers last month to prepare for FDA authorization of a vaccine, according to the Sun. The freezers can hold about 4,000 doses each and cost $10,000 to $20,000.
The University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore has purchased four of the freezers and told the Sun they will be "at strategic locations throughout our system" for vaccine storage. The health system also contracted with a vendor to supply a type of dry ice that is recommended to refill shipping containers.
It's unclear how many of the freezers are available in the state because the Maryland Department of Health is tracking the capacity in a confidential database, the Sun reported. Hospitals don't usually have these types of freezers unless it's for research purposes, since most vaccines only need regular refrigeration.
Georges Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told the Sun that "the big issue is not how to move vaccines across the country by major shippers. It is how to move it from them to pharmacies, retail clinics, doctors offices, etc., and maintain the ultra cold environment."
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