A Binder employee transports an ultra-low-temperature freezer in Tuttlingen, Germany, on Nov. 24, 2020.Matthias Schrader/The Associated Press
Huge supercold freezers were rolling off the production line at a factory in the southern town of Tuttlingen for the next phase of Germany’s battle against COVID-19 even as it became the latest country to hit the milestone of one million confirmed cases Friday.
One of the front-runners in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine is BioNTech, a German company that together with U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has developed a shot it says is up to 96 per cent effective in trials but comes with a small hitch:The vaccine needs to be cooled to minus-70C for shipping and storage.
And that’s what the giant freezers are for as Germany prepares to roll out the initial phase of a vast immunization program for its population of 83 million next month.
COVID-19 news: Updates and essential resources about the pandemic
Is my city going back into lockdown? A guide to COVID-19 restrictions across Canada
German officials say the country hopes to secure up to 300 million doses of vaccine from manufacturers in Germany and elsewhere, including BioNTech and CureVac, a company based in Tuebingen that says its vaccine can be stored at regular refrigerator temperatures for up to three months. Its trials are not as far along, however, as Pfizer/BioNTech and others.
The German federal government has delegated the task of actually administering the vaccines to its 16 states, which are now working to build large vaccination centres.
In the city-state of Berlin, for example, a veteran of disaster management, Albrecht Broemme, is now co-ordinating the setting-up of six vaccine hubs in a convention centre, two former airports, an ice skating rink, a concert hall and an indoor cycle race track.
Authorities want them ready by mid-December to begin vaccinating more than 3,000 people per day at each location. With just a few minutes to deliver each shot and mindful of keeping the number of people in each centre at a minimum, Mr. Broemme and his colleagues are devising a one-way flow system similar to that found in large stores like furniture company Ikea.
The first phase of vaccination in Berlin will likely focus on immunizing health care workers and vulnerable groups such as the elderly and those with chronic illnesses. About 20,000 people will be vaccinated each day, returning after three weeks for a booster shot.
Demand is likely to outstrip supply at first, but that will change as more vaccines come onto the market.
Canadian authorities are assessing COVID-19 vaccine candidates while trials are underway, speeding up any eventual approval for wide use. But science reporter Ivan Semeniuk says it’s likely high-risk people will be prioritized for receiving any vaccine first, with some possibly getting it as early as the first part of 2021.
The Globe and Mail