[2020 National Audit] Up to 800 Minutes... Half of Sinseong Pharmaceutical Transport Vehicles Fail to Maintain Proper Temperature

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] More than half of the transport vehicles used by Shinseong Pharmaceutical and its partner company DL Pharm, which caused the 'room temperature exposure' issue of influenza (flu) vaccines during distribution, were found to have not maintained the proper temperature.

According to data submitted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to Jeong Chun-sook, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the vehicles involved in the issue included 7 units of 11-ton trucks and 179 units of 1-ton trucks, totaling 186 vehicles. The number of transport trips was 8 for the 11-ton trucks and 383 for the 1-ton trucks, totaling 391 trips.

Analysis of the temperature records of all vehicles by Rep. Jeong's office confirmed that only 195 trips (49.9%) maintained the proper temperature range (2~8℃). In other words, more than half of the vaccine transports were conducted without maintaining the appropriate temperature.

The average duration of transport outside the proper temperature range was approximately 88 minutes, with the longest duration being 800 minutes. The temperature distribution outside the standard for the 11-ton trucks ranged from a high of 14.4℃ to a low of 1.1℃. For the 1-ton trucks, the highest was 11.8℃ and the lowest was 0.8℃.

Rep. Jeong emphasized, "Although the government regulates transportation methods to ensure storage temperatures are maintained according to vaccine storage and transport guidelines, it has been revealed that vaccines are being transported without proper vigilance in the field. While the impact of the problematic vaccines on the human body is minimal, comprehensive inspections and supplementary measures regarding the distribution process are necessary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.