Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center announced Friday that it has received the special freezer needed to store Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine.
“We are so fortunate to have ordered this piece of equipment several months ago as there is now a four or five-month backlog to place an order,” said Memorial President & CEO Joseph A. Ruffolo.
The center says it anticipates getting 975 doses of the vaccine next week. The freezer is a NUAIRE -86 degree Celsius (-122.8 Fahrenheit) ultra-low temp freezer.
“We’ve received it just in time for the arrival of the vaccine and we are ready to safely store and distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to our staff, nursing home residents, and community," added Ruffolo.
Memorial says the freezer will be kept at -80 Celsius to preserve the vaccine. The freezer can only be opened and vaccines taken out when wearing special gloves, and the door can only be open for a minute to a minute and a half at a time.
The center is keeping the freezer in a secure room with extra added electricity. The center is also working with the Niagara County Health Department in case the health department needs the freezer space as well.
