Patna: NMCH ready to store 15 lakh vaccines at a time

PATNA: The state vaccine house at the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) is ready for storage and distribution of vaccines against Covid-19.
“The five walk-in-cooler (WIC) rooms at the hospital, built with an expenditure of Rs 10 crore and running at a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, have the capacity to store 15 lakh vaccines at a time for supply to regional vaccine houses in different parts of the state,” NMCH superintendent Dr Binod Kumar Singh said, adding each WIC is fully equipped to store three lakh vaccines on the recommended temperature range.
Dr Singh said two more WIC rooms would become functional at the hospital soon.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar and health minister Mangal Pandey had visited the NMCH on Wednesday and reviewed preparations for the mega vaccination drive to be launched by the government soon.
Dr Singh said though consignments of vaccine are yet to reach, about three crore syringes arrived about a week ago and one-and-a-half crore of them had already been sent to different districts.
The syringes to be used for injecting vaccine are of different types and made for single use. Their pistons would be locked and even broken. Dr Singh said the health department has already developed a system for supply of the vaccines to different districts.
“Our vaccination system is working round the clock. After the arrival of vaccines by special flights, the consignment would be brought from Patna airport to NMCH vaccine house by freezer vans. After necessary documentation, the vaccines will be sent to regional houses,” he said.
The NMCH vaccine house already stocks about 10 types of vaccines like BCG, polio, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, Nemovac, pentavalent and measles-rubella.
The proposed vaccination drive against the Covid-19, however, would be a larger exercise and the NMCH, which worked as a dedicated Covid hospital for months, is now ready for shouldering the task, Dr Singh said.
The dry run for vaccination will be organised on the hospital premises on Friday. Altogether 25 employees have been enrolled for the exercise and separate rooms made for registration, vaccination and post-vaccination observation.