"Protect the Cold Chain" Vaccine Transportation Handled by Military

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Starting next month, the military will directly transport the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines entering the country.

According to a government official on the 12th, the "COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team" appointed Lieutenant General Park Joo-kyung, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army (42nd class of Korea Military Academy), as the head of the Vaccine Transport Headquarters. Lieutenant General Park is scheduled to lead the transport mission starting next month with 10 million AstraZeneca vaccines, followed by 6 million Janssen vaccines in April.

Since these vaccines are stored in refrigerators designed for vaccines during transport, it is considered feasible to use military transport vehicles. In particular, military transport vehicles are advantageous in terms of urgency as they can reduce transport time. AstraZeneca vaccines can be stored refrigerated for 6 months, and Janssen vaccines for 3 months.

The issue lies with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which must be stored at subzero temperatures. The 20 million Moderna vaccines arriving from May will be stored at minus 20 degrees Celsius, and the 10 million Pfizer vaccines arriving from July will be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius.

Upon arrival at domestic airports, the vaccines will be unloaded and transferred to vehicles, then stored in dedicated warehouses. From there, they will be transported individually to medical institutions via vehicles, with the military handling the main transport sections and civilian transport vehicles managing the detailed sections. The military will control the entire route to secure the so-called "cold chain," maintaining low temperatures throughout the transport to the destination.

A government official stated, "The method and sections of vaccine transport are being discussed among relevant ministries, and detailed plans have not yet been finalized."

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