First Nations communities in northern Saskatchewan are working with the federal government to receive and install deep freezers, fridges and power generators for when they need to store the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
The Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority (NITHA) serves 33 communities across the province and generally its Prince Albert office is the main distribution point for all vaccines for community members.
Tara Campbell, the executive director, said things have changed with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
“In anticipation of following the existing vaccine distribution framework, the NITHA office obtained a -20 C freezer from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) for the sole purpose of Moderna vaccine storage,” Campbell said in an email to Global News.
“In addition to our back-up power supply which we already had in place, we added a generator. These measures ensure that there is an uninterrupted power supply in the event of a power outage.”
Last week, a batch of vaccines was spoiled at a B.C. First Nations clinic due to a power outage.
In order to keep the doses from spoiling, the Pfizer vaccine has to be kept at -70 C while the Moderna vaccine has to be stored at -20 C.
When Saskatchewan received its first shipment of doses, health officials said remote communities would likely receive the Moderna vaccine because it is easier to transport given the cold chain storage requirements.
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Campbell said First Nations leaders are working to ensure that when the doses reach their communities, cold chain equipment requirements like freezers and power generators are in place.
The executive director noted that while some communities already have the infrastructure, others are working to install it while there is a lot of demand for the equipment around the world.
Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) said primary and secondary depot sites for vaccine delivery have been chosen in Saskatchewan and the equipment for primary sites has been secured with some already installed.
“Freezers and or fridges for secondary sites are also in the process of being secured,” ISC said in a statement.
“Additional cold chain equipment, such as additional fridge capacity to store thawed vaccine in community, is being assessed, and we are working with partners within the PHAC and the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to secure the necessary equipment.”
A statement from the SHA to Global News stated vaccine freezers province-wide have emergency backup generator power in case there is an outage. Those generators have a maintenance schedule and are subject to regular testing.
“Our planning for Phase 2 includes the same approach to ensure back up power is in place for vaccine storage locations,” said health authority spokesperson Doug Dahl.
“Contingency plans are being developed to ensure we have effective response plans for any potential cold chain management threats.”
Temperature monitoring alarms are “continuously monitored” and will be activated if the temperature changes, Dahl said.
The Athabasca Health Authority, which oversees healthcare for the most northern parts of Saskatchewan, said all of its sites had backup power in place prior to the pandemic.
Saskatoon Tribal Council told Global News the number of doses it has received for its communities has been so low that there hasn’t been a concern for storage yet with all shots being able to be done in a matter of hours.
Prince Albert Grand Council said its communities are in a similar situation where it can manage the number of vaccine doses it has received so far.
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