Godrej Strengthens Vaccine Cold Chain to Help India be Covid-19 Vaccine Ready

KOCHI:
The pandemic has disrupted businesses and the lives of people around the world. As the world is eagerly awaiting the vaccine to be released to the masses, India – the world’s second worst-hit country with over 10 million cases — is gearing up for a huge Covid-19 vaccination drive in the coming months.

Government of India along with State governments and PSU’s, is preparing to deploy vaccines to the masses by getting the vaccines as well as the critical cold chain infrastructure to support the drive, ready. As the country prepares for what may be one of the most significant immunization drives in history, Godrej Appliances, leading player in Indian home appliances, is getting ready for providing end-to-end solution for the Covid-19 Vaccine Cold Chain.

Like most vaccines, Covid 19 Vaccines also are extremely temperature sensitive. Undercooling and over cooling both affect vaccine potency and lead to vaccine wastage. This has a direct implication on both citizen health and the cost over runs of the vaccination program. Given the huge economic implication of the
vaccination drive, any wastage or inefficiency in the vaccination process due to logistical issues related to cold chain must be avoided.

To cater to the urgent demand for Covid-19 vaccine storage in India, the brand has a range of vaccine refrigerators which operate in the precise temperature band of 2-8°C and now, also offers advanced medical freezers with cooling upto -20°C. These temperature ranges are completely suited for the multiple Covid 19 Vaccines being evaluated by India. 4 of the 5 front runners amongst the vaccine variants being evaluated for India need to be stored at 2-8°C (as reported in public domain so far), while the diluents and freezing ice packs required for outreach programs, must be stored at -20°C.

Powered by patented Sure Chill Technology, Godrej Medical Refrigerators help maintain the optimum temperature range of 2 to 8°C – a necessity for vaccine preservation, despite intermittent power outages. In the event of power outages, this refrigerator retains its temperature for as long as 8-12 days even at ambient
temperatures of 43°C. In regions without electricity supply, the equipment can be teamed with solar power to deliver the same result. On the other hand, Godrej Deep Freezers with D-cool Technology use D-shaped Copper Refrigerating Tubes to deliver quick and uniform cooling. It also has Penta Cool Technology for 5-side cooling to deliver high refrigeration efficiency.

These technologies help in providing precision cooling at -20°C and a holdover time of 3 – 4 hours. Given the nature of deployment, the precision cooling and hold over time are both critical requirements. Thanks to the years of building robust appliances for tough conditions, our medical refrigerators operate at a low start up voltage of even 130 V – an added benefit making it extra suited for deployments all over the country. Godrej Medical refrigerators are made in India and use eco-friendly (CFC, HFC and HCFC free) R600A and world’s greenest R290 refrigerant which also deliver maximum energy- efficiency, in line with Godrej’s cherished value of environment.

The brand has received multiple orders valued close to INR 150 Cr from the central government, various state governments and International aid bodies as well, solely for the purpose of Covid-19 vaccine storage. It is also receiving enquiries now from PSUs who are joining the immunization effort. Godrej Appliances has already ramped up medical refrigerator production capacity from 10,000 units per annum to 35,000 units per annum, to meet the growing demand.

Godrej & Boyce has been committed to serving the country especially in the trying pandemic times, through its efforts across its offerings – be it through medical components – Hospital Bed Actuators and Electro-magnetic valves for ventilators, or through disinfectant devices aimed at keeping the population safer at home, or setting up socially distant offices to keep people safe at work; and is proud to serve the country with Made in India medical refrigerators and freezers, at a time when they are most needed.

Commenting on these developments, Kamal Nandi, Business Head and Executive Vice President, Godrej Appliances said, “Over the years, Godrej Appliances has gained its expertise in refrigeration and has extended this further into the medical refrigeration domain. We are proud that this expertise is proving to be
useful today in times when the country needs a strong vaccine cold chain and are glad to be able to contribute to the cause. Our medical refrigerators and also our medical freezers, deliver the precise cooling temperature of 2°C – 8°C and -20°C respectively, needed for the vaccines being evaluated by India at the moment. We are partnering with various stakeholders in strengthening the healthcare cold chain and aiming to solve other potential vaccine roll out challenges as well, to make India Covid-19 vaccine ready.”

Jaishankar Natarajan, Associate Vice President and Head – New Business Development, Godrej Appliances further added “The Covid-19 vaccines being rolled out in India are temperature sensitive and require storage at a specific temperature band to stay potent. Our medical refrigerators are designed to deliver such precision cooling despite power cuts, and have qualified tough international WHO PQS certification standards. Our 62 years of existence in the cooling industry coupled with extensive service network in the country positions us to deliver quick and reliable service to this critical healthcare challenge. Currently, to meet
the increasing demand, we have enhanced our production capacity of these specialized products by 250 percent. Together with the government and health workers, we are committed to provide last mile immunization for Covid-19 vaccine distribution, to safeguard millions of lives.”