Left in the cold
promoting non-chlorofluorocarbon (cfc) refrigerators worldwide, to ensure the safety of the ozone layer, is having an unfortunate fallout. Immunisation programmes which involve the use of vaccines have been on a shaky ground ever since the global programme to switch over to cfc-free refrigeration began according to a recent report of who.
The new equipment does not measure upto the required performance standards of maintaining the cold chain and are 20-40 per cent less effective than the earlier fridges. This has compromised the safety of vaccines, especially in areas which are mostly inaccessible. Tests on solar fridges have shown that temperature control, energy consumption and ice freezing capacity are not the same as cfc-fridges.
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