On the 30th of last month, a petition was posted on the Cheongwadae National Petition site
Pediatrician: "I can't do morning consultations and am anxious all the way to the health center, worried the temperature won't be maintained"
[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Concerns have been raised that some COVID-19 vaccine deliveries are being offloaded onto local clinics. Since maintaining temperature is crucial for vaccines, there are worries that vaccine stability is being threatened.
On the 30th of last month, a post titled "Offloading COVID vaccine deliveries onto neighborhood clinics?" was published on the Blue House's public petition board.
The petitioner, who identified themselves as a pediatrician, said, "Currently, COVID vaccinations have started at local clinics," and opened by stating, "COVID vaccinations have strict guidelines, and we are doing our best in many ways."
They continued, "This week, we were told to pick up the vaccines directly from the public health center. Local clinics are not cold chain companies, so how can the temperature be properly maintained between 4 to 8 degrees Celsius in iceboxes during this heat? Moreover, other hospitals in the same building receive deliveries if they have more than 10 vials, but if fewer, we are told to carry ice bags and pick them up ourselves," expressing dissatisfaction.
They added, "I can’t even do morning consultations, and I’m anxious the whole time going over an hour to the public health center, worrying that the temperature might not be maintained properly," and said, "I don’t know why important tasks that should be done by the public health center are being delegated to individuals."
Previously, the government temporarily changed the method so that individual entrusted medical institutions would pick up vaccines directly from public health centers to meet vaccination schedules, after the vaccination for those aged 55 to 59 was switched from Moderna to Pfizer due to delays in Moderna vaccine supply.
However, as COVID-19 vaccines require strict temperature control, concerns have arisen that poor management during transportation could lead to disposal or threaten vaccine stability, causing local clinics to complain about the delivery burden.
The medical community also expressed concerns about the changes in the COVID-19 vaccine delivery system.
The Korean Medical Association stated in a position paper on the 30th of last month, "The government is proceeding by delivering some of the early August vaccination doses in bulk to local governments, requiring entrusted medical institutions to pick them up directly from their respective public health centers," and pointed out, "This is causing confusion and concerns at frontline medical sites."
They also warned, "If medical institutions administer vaccines without recognizing that they are unusable, it could lead to dangerous situations where the health and safety of vaccine recipients cannot be guaranteed."
In response, Jeong Eun-kyung, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said at a briefing on the 2nd, "This is a temporary measure," and added, "Going forward, vaccines will be delivered maintaining the cold chain up to entrusted medical institutions."
However, she noted, "Only in cases where entrusted medical institutions have difficulties receiving vaccines due to vacations, closures, power outages, etc., will guidance be provided to pick up vaccines via the public health center."
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