Those in the Pharmacy profession are still continuing the work they are accustomed to under pre-pandemic conditions but now the COVID-19 vaccine has expanded that work.
It was one year ago Tuesday when the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived in La Crosse. The first recipients said, for them, this moment lifted a tremendous weight off their tired shoulders.
Mayo Clinic prepares for COVID-19 storage
The Pfizer vaccine must be stored at 94 degrees below zero
December 11, 2020 6:37 PM Greg White
Updated:
The Pfizer vaccine must be stored at 94 degrees below zero.
By comparison, that’s 51 degrees colder than La Crosse’s low temperature record.
In order to keep the vaccine cold enough, Mayo Clinic will store it in multiple ultralow temperature freezers.
Thanks to those cold temperatures, it does take about three hours to thaw so it can be used.
That means getting a vaccine, at least initially, will need to be a planned in advance.
“It’s likely that, you know, there will be appointments for individuals to come in and we know when people come in for their vaccine. And we will have the doses of vaccine ready, ready for them,” said Mayo Clinic Health System regional pharmacy director Jenny Tempelis.