New Delhi, Apr 21 (FN Bureau) Freeze-free vaccine carriers are saving time and easing the job of vaccinators in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh, as per a report. The State of the World’s Children (SOWC)- 2023 report released by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday with the theme ‘Immunization’, said, “Traditional vaccine carriers have been replaced in UP’s Barabanki with user-independent freeze-free vaccine carriers (UIFFVCs). These new carriers have eliminated operational challenges faced by traditional vaccine carriers.” According to the report, UIFFVCs offer advantages such as prevention of vaccine freezing and contamination, elimination of conditioning ice-packs, and ensure savings in time, efficiency and wastage. The UIFFVCs are used in India’s immunization programme, particularly in remote locations. “Traditional vaccine carriers have constraints such as the possibility of freezing of vaccines that need to be thrown away, contamination of vaccines with water from the melting ice, smudging of vaccine labels by melting ice, the requirement of conditioning of the ice-packs, leading to vaccine wastage and loss of vaccine handler’s time.
UIFFVCs overcome these constraints, save time and increase efficiency,” the report reads. It added, “Shiv Shankar Singh, a cold chain handler (CCH) of cold chain point (CCP), and frontline health workers including vaccinators in Dewa in Barabanki district are happy to useUIFFVC. These reach approximately 95,429 children annually with 25 to 30 children every day.” The report also highlighted the shift to digital technology in the health sector and its potential to improve the quality and timeliness of data.”India has made strides in this area with the digital health platform TeCHO+ and the electronic vaccine intelligence network (eVIN) which has been linked to the oimprovement of vaccination coverage and the availability of doses,” the report said. The SOWC is an annual flagship report published by UNICEF which provides a comprehensive analysis of the well-being of children around the world. The report examines key indicators related to childhealth, education, protection, and development, and offers insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by children in various countries and regions.