The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) and Hitachi ABB Power Grids in India have tied up to enable efficient last-mile COVID-19 vaccine delivery in South India.
C-CAMP in partnership with ABB Power Grids will provide public healthcare systems in Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Chennai with an indigenously developed, innovative, portable cold-chain transport device for efficient vaccine delivery.
This C-CAMP-supported innovation integrates an emerging technology in cold chain with easy accessibility and operability features that can address the critical issue of last mile vaccine spoilage due to thermal degradation in commonly used iceboxes.
Having already made some inroads in remote locations of North-Eastern India with the technology, the CSR grant received from Hitachi Power Grids in India will help C-CAMP introduce it to urban, semi-urban and rural primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in Southern India.
The innovation is a portable battery-operated medical-grade refrigeration unit whose unique selling propositions are pre-set temperatures, strict temperature-control and easy portability.
The patented technology assures vaccine viability for up to 12 hours which in turn guarantees efficacious vaccine administration as well as better reuse and recycling of unused vaccines from any batch.
Moreover, being geolocation tagged can considerably increase flexibility, tracking and traceability in the last-mile supply chain, making it ideal for variable demand as well as remote locations.
As a part of this project, C-CAMP will facilitate deployment at government health departments of Bengaluru, Mysuru and Chennai over the next six months.