As the word begins to turn again with the introduction of a COVID-19 vaccination, this has not been without significant planning and preparation. Behind the scenes, the rollout of these vaccines has involved a vast amount of infrastructure and instrumentation to support hospitals and vaccine hubs. In 2012, ECEfast began using Hanwell systems and technology for temperature monitoring solutions. Almost 10 years later, we are now their largest distributor in the world. With this experience, we provided advanced temperature monitoring solutions for COVID-19 vaccines throughout NSW, using Hanwell technology, ensuring vaccinations are stored at the necessary temperatures.
Why are temperature monitoring solutions for COVID-19 vaccines important?
For vaccines to work as they should, storage at the correct temperature is vital. The Pfizer vaccine for example, has several temperatures it can be stored at depending on when it will be delivered. It starts with a shelf-life of 6 months at temperatures below -70C. Once thawed for use when needed, the shelf life drops to 5 days when stored between 2 and 8 C. Above 8 C, it has a life of 2 hours undiluted and 6 hours diluted, ready for injection.
At each of these stages, temperature monitoring data must be readily available to ensure vaccines are being stored at the perfect temperature. By using Hanwell technology, this data is always easily accessible.
How does wireless temperature monitoring solutions for COVID-19 vaccines work?
The Hanwell system used, is designed to monitor the temperature of refrigerators and freezers within hospitals /vaccine hubs and alert staff directly, assisting in keeping drugs and vaccines safe from damage and the public safe from harm.
A high accuracy sensor is placed in each fridge or freezer and connected through Hanwell EMS (environmental monitoring software). When the temperature within one of those fridges breaches pre-determined settings, a buzzer will sound to alert the staff. Normally someone would need to go to a PC to view the alarm but with Hanwell, this is a thing of the past. The alarm notification and actions will be delivered to a nominated printer for staff to quickly identify and rectify.
Because this system also stores the data on a local network, it can be used by senior staff to access, analyse, and identify any potential trends that may cause problems in the future.
Where are Hanwell temperature monitoring solutions used for COVID-19 vaccines?
Hanwell wireless monitoring systems are installed in all Sydney metro Local Health Districts.
They provide important temperature monitoring and alerts for drugs and vaccines in 90% of Sydney hospitals. Almost 1000 fridges and freezers are now monitored automatically on the NSW Health network.
Hanwell is a known and trusted platform throughout NSW Health. With this dependability and infrastructure in place, these systems have also been extended to include Covid-19 Vaccine Hubs for RPA, Westmead and Liverpool Hospitals.
Learn more about Hanwell systems here: https://hanwell.com/
Contact ECEFast for more information: https://ecefast.com.au/contact-us/