'160,000 Doses of AZ Vaccine' Arrive at Icheon Logistics Center... Distributed Nationwide by Dawn of 25th

Strict Security Measures During 184km Movement from Andong to Icheon

On the 24th, when the first shipment of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was made in Korea, a vaccine transport vehicle that left SK Bioscience factory in Andong, Gyeongbuk, arrived at the Gtree BNT logistics center in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do.

The vaccines that arrived at the logistics center on this day are part of the 750,000 doses contracted by the government, totaling 150,000 doses, and are scheduled to be sequentially transported to public health centers and nursing hospitals nationwide starting from the 25th, the following day. 2021.2.24 Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] On the 24th, two days before the first COVID-19 vaccination in Korea, a tense atmosphere surrounded the GTree BNT logistics center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. This site is responsible for storing the AstraZeneca vaccines produced at the SK Bioscience Andong L-House vaccine center and distributing them to various vaccination institutions.

Even before the first vaccines arrived, the area near the center building was under strict surveillance by police and military personnel. The atmosphere reflected the fact that this logistics center is designated as a national security facility. About 80 police officers and riot police, along with 6 firefighters, were on standby at the site. A small ladder truck was also prepared in case of emergencies.

The vaccine transport truck, which departed Andong around 10 a.m., traveled 184 km and arrived at the Icheon logistics center shortly after 12:30 p.m. Approximately 10 vehicles, including patrol cars and riot police buses, were mobilized, but most vehicles left just before entering the logistics center, with only three vehicles, including the transport truck, passing through the main gate. Around 40 personnel were deployed to escort the convoy.

The vehicle used for vaccine transport that day was a 5-ton refrigerated truck equipped with GPS and vehicle temperature monitoring devices, enabling real-time location tracking and cold chain monitoring. A Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency official stated, “During transport to the logistics center, the integrated control center (located in Pangyo) monitors the vehicle’s location, temperature, and vaccine container temperature in real time to manage the cold chain. Once the vaccines safely arrive at the logistics center, they undergo a handover process before being unloaded and stored in the cold chain warehouse (2°C to 8°C).”

On the 24th, when the first shipment of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine began in Korea, officials were moving the vaccines into the warehouse at the Gyeonggi-do Icheon GTree BNT logistics center.

The vaccines that arrived at the logistics center that day were 150,000 doses, part of the 750,000 doses contracted by the government, and were scheduled to be sequentially transported to public health centers and nursing hospitals nationwide starting from the 25th. 2021.2.24 Photo by Joint Press Corps

After peeling off the red seal sticker on the right corner of the truck door and pressing the door open button, two cold chain dedicated containers inside the truck were revealed. The truck carried enough vaccines for 150,000 to 160,000 people. One container held the vaccines, while the other was an emergency backup container.

A forklift waiting near the receiving dock approached, lifted the containers, and moved them to the receiving area. The Icheon logistics center has a total of nine loading and unloading docks. It took nearly 15 minutes after the truck’s arrival for the vaccine containers to be fully unloaded.

On the day of transport, An Seong-sik, Superintendent of the Southern Gyeonggi Expressway Patrol, who escorted the vaccine transport, said, “We paid close attention to preventing any terrorism or accidents involving the vaccine transport vehicles. We conducted regular pre-transport drills to ensure flawless delivery, so there were no particularly difficult issues. We will do our utmost to ensure the vaccine transport proceeds without any problems.”

The AstraZeneca vaccines shipped from Andong that day totaled 347,000 doses (one dose equals one vaccination). By the 28th, about 300,000 doses will be shipped daily, totaling 1.57 million doses over five days. The vaccines transported to the Icheon logistics center will be reclassified and repackaged before being dispatched starting at 5:30 a.m. the next day to 1,909 nursing hospitals and public health centers nationwide.

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