Health Board buys new cold storage units due to Moderna vial changes
The Health Board (Terviseamet) is purchasing new cold storage units for its warehouse via a state procurement. The purchase is require as one of the approved Covid vaccine manufacturers, Moderna, is using different vials than earlier, and the containers will take up twice as much space as was the case previously.
On September 2, the State Shared Service Center (Riigi tugiteenuste keskus) started the procurement to obtain the cold storage units, on behalf of the Health Board, and at a cost of €215,000.
Health Board spokesperson Kirsi Pruudel told ERR that they needed the new refrigerators to store the Moderna vaccines.
"Moderna's vaccine doses no longer come in ten-dose vials, as they had been until now, but now in five-dose vials," she said.
These newer vials will take up twice as much space in the refrigerator, but are also more user-friendly, since they no longer need to be diluted before administering to patients, she added
"Furthermore, this reduces vaccine wastage, because an opened vial must be used within the time-frame specified by the vaccine manufacturer," Pruudel added.
The procurement documentation states 20 units are to be purchased this year.
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