South Korean ultra-cold warehouse prepares to store Pfizer Covid vaccine

South Korea Superfreeze Inc's coldest warehouse is being prepared for the tonnes of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines that will soon make their way to the country.

Located 65 km (40 miles) below Seoul and boasting temperatures frostier than an Antarctic winter, the facility would be the best, perhaps only, place in South Korea suitable for bulk storage of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, says company CEO Kim Jin-ha.

Some rooms in the warehouse are so frigid that a cup of warm water thrown into one will immediately turn into snow.

The warehouse uses liquefied natural gas (LNG) to keep temperatures cool trumped electricity.

The agency has asked Korea Superfreeze to provide plans and cost estimates for storing and distributing vaccines, including how it would handle a scenario where vaccines would be shipped to 260 different locations.

South Korea has arranged to buy 20 million doses of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.

The country also has deals for 20 million doses each for the vaccines developed by Moderna Inc and AstraZeneca Plc/Oxford University and for another 4 million doses from Johnson & Johnson.

To accommodate Pfizer's vaccine, Korea Superfreeze is planning a dedicated passageway and elevator so there is no interference from outside temperatures. Once it confirms, it has a contract, it will begin construction which may take two-three months. The warehouse also has 220 closed-circuit cameras that monitor resting cargo round the clock.

The company has been in talks with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency since early November and while nothing is yet decided, expectations are high it will land a contract.

(with inputs)