All AZ Vaccines Bound for Jeju Recalled Due to Temperature Issues

The COVID-19 AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine was loaded onto the Sea World high-speed ferry Queen Zenobia by sea and arrived at Pier 4 of Jeju Port at 5:40 a.m. on the 25th. / Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters (Jeju) Reporter Park Chang-won] All AstraZeneca (AZ) COVID-19 vaccines being transported to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province were recalled due to temperature issues with the transport containers.

On the 25th, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced that the temperature inside the transport container of the refrigerated truck carrying vaccines, which departed from the Icheon logistics center in Gyeonggi the previous afternoon, had temporarily dropped to 1.5℃ above zero. The vehicle was moved back to the logistics center, and a replacement vehicle loaded with new vaccine supplies was dispatched.

The affected vehicle was scheduled to depart for Mokpo Port carrying 3,900 doses of vaccines destined for Jeju.

However, with the entire batch of vaccines replaced, the expected arrival time at Mokpo Port was delayed by about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, which requires ultra-low temperatures around -70℃, the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine is known to be storable at room temperatures between 2℃ and 8℃.

Meanwhile, the vaccines, which arrived at Mokpo Port later than expected, were loaded onto the Sea World high-speed ferry Queen Jenovia and arrived at Jeju Port Pier 4 at 5:40 a.m. that day.

Afterward, the vaccines were loaded onto a 1-ton refrigerated truck and transported to nine nursing hospitals and care facilities, as well as six public health centers within the province.

However, concerns have been raised over the decision to transport the vaccines by ferry to Jeju Port despite conducting two simulated air transport drills.

The issue centers on temperature maintenance for the COVID-19 vaccines. Instead of using the two-hour air route from Seongnam Airfield to Jeju Airport, a 12-hour land and sea route from the Icheon logistics center was used.

A Jeju official stated, “The drills were conducted using aircraft, but the vaccines were transported by ferry, which was surprising. This incident should lead to changes in vaccine transportation to Jeju.”

A Jeju resident, Mr. A, criticized, “It’s fortunate that the temperature maintenance failure was detected before departure. What would have happened to the vaccinations if the problem had been found only after boarding the ferry?”

Jeju Province expressed its intention to propose to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to ensure no gaps in vaccine transport and to hold further consultations.

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