MANILA—How would a walk-in freezer benefit millions of infants in the Philippines?
Think vaccines, those shots given to young children to protect them from debilitating, even killer diseases, such as polio, measles, mumps and rubella.
Why a freezer? Freezers help store vaccines, most of which must be kept at certain temperatures and protected from light to ensure their potency and effectiveness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC.
That means vaccines need to be properly stored during immunization programs, like the one the Philippines is currently rolling out in Manila.
On Wednesday the Philippine government’s Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, or RITM, will get new walk-in freezer, which will be used to store vaccines for various viruses, measles included.
The institute, located south of Manila, has been undertaking research on infectious and tropical diseases and producing vaccines since its establishment in 1981. The nearly $90,000 freezer was bought using a grant from Japan and will be used to store vaccines developed by RITM as well as vaccines needed for both the Manila vaccination program and a national immunization program for measles and polio run by the Department of Health.
Set to start in September, the national program is targeting 13 million children between nine months and four years of age. The Philippines conducts a nationwide immunization every three years, but past programs have not reached their full targets – due in part to urban migration and parents who chose not to have their children vaccinated.
The 2011 program only reached around 85% of the target population, the health department said.
That has led to a resurgence in cases of measles, which spiked starting last November. The outbreak killed more than two dozen children in 2013 and pushed the government to begin a 12-day measles vaccination program in and around Manila on Jan. 23.
Measles, a highly contagious viral disease and a leading cause of death among young children, can largely be prevented with available vaccines.
The World Health Organization, or WHO, estimates as many as three million deaths are averted because of vaccination every year — though nearly 23 million infants worldwide still miss out this basic immunization.
Poor storage is another problem, since it can reduce the potency of the vaccines, requiring repeat dosages. Measles vaccines are less vulnerable to temperature changes than others, but according to the CDC, “It is better not to vaccinate than to administer a dose of vaccine that has been mishandled.”
In addition to the new freezer for RITM, Sure Chill, a U.K.-based company that has developed a cooling technology for use in medical refrigerators, is in the process of delivering up to 200 vaccine refrigerators to all parts of the Philippines. The fridges, which can go without power for up to 10 days, are part of a $500,000 order from the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, and are being used to support a vaccination program initiated following Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines in November.
The Philippines is frequently impacted by storms and other natural disasters that cut off electricity. Many areas devastated by Typhoon Haiyan went for weeks without power, making it difficult for health workers to carry out immunizations needed to prevent the spread of diseases that break out following disasters due to poor sanitation.
After the vaccination program is completed, UNICEF will transfer the fridges to the Filipino Ministry of Health to be installed in local health facilities.
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