Polyclinic №1 of Mykolaiv insists on the «absolute safety» of vaccination of children despite the heat and lack of light

Storing vaccines in the refrigerator. Illustrative photo

The administration of City Polyclinic №1 assured that vaccinating children during periods of extreme heat is absolutely safe, as vaccines are stored in special refrigerators or thermal containers.

This was announced on the Facebook page «Center of Primary Health Care №1» (CPHC).

As you know, the former director of the Mykolaiv Regional Infectious Disease Hospital, MP Svitlana Fedorova stated that, given the abnormal heat, medicines and vaccines in the family outpatient clinic №5 are stored with violation of the temperature regime, as they are not in refrigerators.

According to the doctor, the vaccines, which were kept in the offices all the time, were injected into the babies. She urges parents of children who have received vaccinations to immediately consult a doctor if the child's condition worsens.

Screenshot from the video inspection of polyclinic №5

Screenshot from the video inspection of polyclinic №5

The Center for Primary Health Care №1 said that taking into account the power outage, vaccines are delivered to dispensaries every morning in thermal containers in the amount needed for daily needs, and the rest are returned to the storage base every evening.

«Safe vaccination in hot summer. In a very difficult hot period, and especially during blackout periods, medical workers pay great attention to the high-quality storage of the vaccine with the implementation of cold chain measures. The facility received refrigeration equipment from UNICEF in advance, as early as 2022, for long-term and safe storage of vaccines,» the message states.

The administration of CPHC 1 emphasizes that thanks to the refrigeration equipment, the vaccines remain safe for use for 72 hours even without turning on the generator. This ensures that children receive high-quality and safe vaccinations regardless of the conditions outside.

«During the day, the vaccine is stored in the refrigerator or thermal containers. The administration of CPHC 1 and all medical workers assure the residents of the city, the parents of the children observed in the institution, of the absolute safety of vaccine storage. We insist that the round-the-clock storage of vaccines in the refrigeration equipment for the long-term storage of biological preparations without the availability of electricity for 72 hours does not require turning on the generator to maintain the temperature regime,» the message says.

Note that abnormally high temperature indicators are observed in most regions of Ukraine. Although meteorologists of the Mykolaiv hydrometeorological center predicted in the spring that the summer in the region would be traditional, already in June the heat began to break all temperature records.

On June 3, the temperature in Mykolaiv approached the absolute maximum for the past 30 years, reaching 33 degrees Celsius. Mykolaiv set a new record on July 10 — the thermometer showed +40.5°С, on July 11 the temperature remained at the level of 40.2°С.

Despite the high temperatures, the number of calls to «emergency» teams in Mykolaiv remains stable.