Guidelines for Covid vaccines transportation issued

Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Jan. 8 (EMN): Close on the heels of the Centre asking the states and Union Territories to be prepared to receive first supply of Covid-19 vaccines, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday issued guidelines to aircraft operators that plan to transport coronavirus jabs packed in dry ice to various parts of the country.

Stating that transporting Covid-19 vaccines via air is the most efficient option, the aviation regulator said “it is imperative that air logistics provide a well-defined procedure that meets the global safety standards and requirements based on local conditions”.

The DGCA said that it is essential to use refrigerant material for transportation of Covid-19 vaccines as the required temperature for it varies from -8 degree Celsius to -70 degree Celsius. It added that dry ice is most commonly used as it continually sublimates at temperature higher than -78 degree Celsius under normal atmospheric pressure.

“All operators while engaging in transportation of Covid-19 vaccines packed with dry ice shall establish the maximum quantity of dry ice that can be loaded in a given cargo hold or in the main deck (passenger cabin) when a passenger version is deployed for all cargo operations,” read the guideline.

India conducted the second nationwide mock drill or dry run for vaccination against Covid-19 on Friday as it prepares for its rollout following approval of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin by Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for restricted emergency use in the country.