[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Military personnel and transportation means will be deployed to safely transport and store the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines.
According to military officials on the 28th, the 'COVID-19 Vaccine Transport Support Headquarters,' which involves military transportation, will support the safe transport and storage of vaccines from airports to logistics warehouses and vaccination institutions (public health centers, medical institutions, vaccination centers).
In addition, to prepare for possible accidents during transportation, various crisis management measures including pre-simulation training will be conducted to respond swiftly. The military will also carry out support tasks such as personnel deployment, escort, and security for vaccine transportation. For island and remote areas where vehicle transport is difficult, vaccine transport using helicopters is also planned.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Vaccine Transport Headquarters will take full charge of managing and supervising the overall vaccine transport operations going forward. The Vaccine Transport Headquarters, composed of a total of 41 members, will include 34 personnel from the military and 7 dispatched from other government agencies. The head of the Vaccine Transport Headquarters will be Lieutenant General Park Ju-kyung, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army and an expert in military logistics.
A Ministry of National Defense official stated regarding the role of the Vaccine Transport Headquarters, "They will supervise vaccine distribution companies and, when necessary, cooperate with these companies to manage them," adding, "They will monitor on-site whether the companies comply with distribution guidelines."
The official further explained, "In addition, they will perform vaccine escort support duties," and "The military and police will jointly escort the vaccines, and in case of emergencies, they will take measures to ensure the vaccines remain intact and to restore emergency situations."
The vaccines must maintain a cold chain at temperatures as low as minus 80 degrees Celsius. To this end, ultra-low temperature freezers are being prepared, and GPS (Global Positioning System) devices will be installed in transport vehicles.
Furthermore, SK Bioscience has been selected as the organization to establish and operate the vaccine distribution and storage system. Contracts have also been signed with private companies such as Daehan Science, Ilsin Biobase, and Thermo Fisher Scientific to expand ultra-low temperature freezers capable of transporting and storing the U.S. Pfizer vaccine, which requires a cold chain below minus 70 degrees Celsius.
The task force plans to collaborate with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to develop the 'COVID-19 Vaccine Storage and Transport Guidelines' to establish cold chain management standards. They will also build a reporting system that can immediately detect accidents through a real-time cold chain management system and notify the Disease Control Agency, and prepare response manuals for accidents to thoroughly train operating personnel.
In case of accidents such as refrigerator malfunction or power outages involving vaccine storage equipment, alternative storage devices such as dry ice, ice packs, and ice boxes from ultra-low temperature freezers will be used until the refrigerators are repaired. If repairs take a long time, preparations will be made to transfer and store vaccines in alternative storage equipment.
To prepare for possible power outages, an uninterruptible power supply (UPAS) that can provide stable electricity even during power interruptions will be mandatorily installed.
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