Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang (second right) at a press conference after the special package arrived at Belaga Health Clinic.
BELAGA (Jan 29): The delivery dry run here has shown that the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine can be transported locally at the required temperature of negative 75 degrees celsius, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang.
He said the temperature of the saline water, which was used instead of the vaccine in the test, held steady throughout the journey from the source all the way to the Belaga Health Clinic this afternoon.
“So that means it’s okay. (The temperature) from the data logger was stable and should be a success,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted.
Earlier today, the box of saline water made its four-hour journey from the Bintulu airport at 8am in a four-wheel drive.
Aaron had said at the clinic after the special package arrived that the dry run had been carried out smoothly.
He added that the Belaga Health clinic was chosen because it is located in a remote area which was equipped with a health clinic and suitable for the vaccination programme.
“The dry run test is to ensure the ultra-cold negative 75 degree celsius Pfizer vaccine temperature can be maintained during the transportation from the factory in Belgium to Belaga Health Clinic.
“Apart from that, it is also to assess the Covid-19 vaccine handling capability in Malaysia and the feasibility of the Covid-19 vaccine manual developed by the Health Ministry,” he said.
A thermal shipper was used to store the saline-filled bottles. It was transported from Belgium on Monday and arrived in Kuching yesterday before it was delivered by road to Bintulu.
The actual Pfizer vaccines are expected to arrive in the country only next month, with one million doses expected to be supplied throughout the country.
Only the vaccines provided by Pfizer need to be kept at negative 75 degrees celsius, while those provided by China require only room temperature to be stored.
Besides Pfizer, Malaysia is obtaining Covid-19 vaccines from COVAX, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, CanSino and Gamaleya.
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