Niagara Falls, N.Y. (WBEN) - In advance of the arrival of the much anticipated COVID vaccine developed by Pfizer, area hospitals and medical facilities have made important preparations ensuring they are able to properly store the precious stock.
At Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, they're ready for nearly 1,000 doses with a new NUAIRE -86 degree Celsius (-122.8 Fahrenheit) ultra-low temp freezer in place.
The freezer will be kept at -80 degrees Celsius to accommodate the vaccine, which requires a temperature of -70 degrees Fahrenheit. The freezer is housed in a secure room that has been modified to provide the additional electricity needed to operate it.
Accessed only by those wearing special cryogenic gloves, the freezer door can only be open for 60 to 90 seconds before being closed again for hours.
In addition, the medical center is in talks with the Niagara County Health Department to share the freezer if space is needed on their end.
"We've received it just in time for the arrival of the vaccine and we are ready to safely store and distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to our staff, nursing home residents, and community," said Memorial President & CEO Joseph A. Ruffolo.
Director of Pharmacy Michelle Lewis said the vaccine could arrive as soon as today, or it could be any day this week. "We've been getting ready for it. We have special cryogenic gloves needed to handle it and we've been practicing opening the containers in the 90 second window. "
The hospital also has a backup generator to ensure that there is never a loss of power and the freezer has a constant temperature monitoring system. "I will get a text message if the freezer goes one degree out of range," said Lewis.
