Health Min: Peru prepared for cold chain storage of vaccines

"Vaccines can be administered even if climate changes. We can keep the system running. Actions have been taken in case we get a vaccine that requires temperatures that are more difficult to maintain," she said in remarks to TV Peru.

The minister affirmed that the cold chain in Peru is prepared for vaccines that need to be stored between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius and that all regions in the country have refrigerators, of which 46 are large.

"Whether it is summer or winter, our refrigeration system can preserve the vaccines, and the advantage of having a system keeping vaccines between 2 to 8 degrees Celsius is that it is very practical to maintain in remote places. Besides, we may use solar-powered refrigerators in locations where electricity is not available," she noted.

In this sense, Mazzetti announced that about 1,000 solar-powered refrigerators will arrive in Peru by the end of January. They will be distributed in remote areas of Andean and Amazon regions.

According to the Cabinet member, there are two 700 cubic meter freezer rooms in the warehouses of the National Center for Supply of Strategic Resources in Health (Cenares), which are able to store 12 million doses of vaccines all at once.

She went on to say that, despite the difficulties, Peru continues to be a leader in immunizations, and that the immunization coverage has increased from 40% to 60.9% in the last vaccination campaigns.

"We have to trust in the health personnel and in the storage capacity we have," she stressed.

(END) LIT/RMB/MVB