SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — Shreveport-based Morris & Dickson has been chosen to distribute the coronavirus vaccine throughout Louisiana.
States around the country will be receiving an allocation of the vaccine, a portion of that will be shipped directly to larger hospital systems, while individual state leaders will be responsible for distributing the remainder of the allocation, which will be sent to smaller hospitals and other vaccination points.
Morris & Dickson will assist the state in distributing the remaining portion of the vaccine to all Phase 1 administration sites, which consists of approximately 200 medical facilities across the state, they will also continue distribution in Phase 2 with direct shipments to a wider range of administration sites.
This system will continue beyond Pfizer’s vaccine – to Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines.
Pfizer’s vaccine will require ultra-cold chain, while the other drug makers’ vaccines will only require standard cold chain.
To ensure that vaccines are properly stored and distributed, Morris & Dickson is partnering with locally-owned Red Ball Oxygen to obtain dry ice at the rate of 4,000 pounds per week, which will be in a special granular from detailed by Pfizer and manufactured specifically for this mission, as well as have ultra-cold storage in place to hold more than 750,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine at -80 degrees Celsius.
Additionally, the company implemented ultra-cold chain and specialty drug processes, as well as trained employees to package and ship frozen vaccines to facilities of all sizes across the state. They are also expecting the turnaround time from receiving the vaccine from Pfizer to hand delivery at facilities to be within the same or next day.