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A medical worker takes a woman’s temperature at temporary testing centre for Covid-19 at Fu Shin Community Hall in Tai Po on November 9. How to identify and train workers to handle and administer vaccines and determining the location for administering shots are decisions Hong Kong’s government will have to make soon. Photo: Sam Tsang

Letters | Coronavirus vaccine: questions Hong Kong must answer to ensure a smooth roll-out

  • The successful mass testing of more than a million people in September showcased Hong Kong’s ability to enact scalable public health operations, but the authorities now need to strategise and manage operations across a more complex set of tasks
Amid the urgency to identify a successful Covid-19 vaccine, the equally urgent need for a robust distribution infrastructure has been much less discussed. Once a vaccine receives approval in Hong Kong, many key questions remain to be addressed.

For example, how can we best gain public trust? Is this going to be a voluntary, voluntary and incentivised, or compulsory exercise? Will it be a government-run exercise? Can businesses mandate that their employees get a Covid-19 vaccine?

What is the best way to distribute and store vaccines across an ultra-deep cold chain? Can we roll out a transparently developed, phased allocation methodology so the medicines will not degrade at the point of administration? Should we have one or multiple distribution centres and how do we optimally locate them?

How should we identify and train workers to handle and administer vaccines, determine the location for administering shots for designated individuals, and schedule the shots? Besides health care workers, should the elderly with higher fatality rates be prioritised, or should we work on a first-come, first-served basis?

How should we ensure safe administration of the vaccine and availability of supplies? It is estimated that each worker performing vaccinations can only administer six doses an hour. How do we ensure adequate supplies of personal protective equipment?

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Moderna Covid-19 vaccine nearly 95 per cent effective in second promising trial for US drug makers

Moderna Covid-19 vaccine nearly 95 per cent effective in second promising trial for US drug makers

How do we get people to return for a second dose of the vaccine, which is required by all but one vaccine candidate?

How can we best monitor necessary data from the vaccination programme? A sophisticated and transparent information technology system capable of supporting and tracking distribution, administration and other necessary data will be needed. Is this best done through the government, a private logistics provider or a hybrid exercise?

As a scholar of operations management, I study product supply chains, including those for perishable goods. The issue is how to match storage capacity with the storage requirements of different vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine has a long-term storage requirement of minus 70 degrees Celsius for up to six months and remains stable at 2 to 8 degrees for five days, while the Moderna vaccine must be stored long-term at minus 20 degrees Celsius and remains stable at 2 to 8 degrees for up to 30 days.

The configuration of cold chain management depends upon which vaccine is to be deployed or the mix of multiple vaccines.

The successful mass testing of more than one million people in September – a less complex task than distributing, scheduling and administering vaccines – bears witness to Hong Kong’s ability to enact scalable public health operations. We now need to demonstrate we can strategise and manage operations across a more complex set of tasks.

Let’s prepare now and get it right.

Frank Chen, dean and chair professor, College of Business, City University of Hong Kong

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