Special fridges to store Covid-19 vaccine arrive in Lucknow

Lucknow: Specially-designed Ice Lined Refrigerators (ILR) started arriving in Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday in anticipation of Covid-19 vaccine. “We have received four ILRs. Each one has a capacity of 225 litres,” said Dr MK Singh, in-charge of routine immunisation. Asked about the storage capacity of the fridges, he said, “It is still early days to talk about the number of vials per box.” Likewise, Dr Singh said, the number of ILRs that will eventually be required cannot be mentioned right away. The picture should get clearer in the days to come, he added.

The ILRs, after they reached the Aishbagh cold chain storage point, were kept in the building beside the Urban Health Centre and Woman and Child Hospital. This building has been prepared exclusively to store the vaccine and a space of 2,400-sq feet has been earmarked for the ILRs and cold chain boxes. In addition to the building, two residential blocks have also been acquired nearby for vaccine storage. “With the arrival of ILRs, our cold chain system will soon be in place as we already have temperature controlled systems at all places where routine vaccination is done,” said Dr DS Negi, director general, medical health.

“We have dedicated the ground and first floor for storing the vaccine,” said Dr Singh. The ILRs have compartment temperature between 2 degrees Celsius and 8 degrees Celsius for storing vaccine vials. The first round of vaccination will be for healthcare workers and their list is being prepared. The list has already crossed the 40,000-mark and should be final by next week. “Those in the frontline, including policemen and municipal corporation staff, will be vaccinated in the second phase and the next will be the elderly (above 50 years of age),” said Dr Singh.

There are about 14,000 municipal corporation staff and approximately 20,000 policemen, including traffic police personnel and home guards.