Camosun College develops syringe transportation trays to help B.C.'s vaccine rollout
Vaccines are our best tool in the fight against COVID-19, health officials say, so Camosun College was given an important task from B.C.'s Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) to protect them.
Working together, staff and students at the Greater Victorai college's applied research department, called 'Camosun Innovates,' had to come up with a way of transporting multiple loaded syringes containing COVID-19 vaccines without damaging them or causing their plungers to depress along the way.
"When they are distributed, often what will happen is the syringes will get depressed in transit, and so once that happens, we’re not able to use those syringes," says Dr. Richard Gale, director at Camosun Innovates.
"So we wanted to create something that would keep the syringes stable in transit, but also make it possible for them to be refrigerated if need be."
It took 24 hours to come up with a design and 3 days to manufacture foam trays that will safely transport syringes containing a pre-drawn single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The foam trays, made from a chemically-resistant polyethylene closed-cell foam, are manufactured using a commercial-grade laser cutter located in the Babcock Interaction Lab at the college’s Interurban Campus.
The specially-designed foam trays stop the doses from rolling around, or the accidental depression of the plunger while being transported.
"A number of vaccines are being distributed in pre-loaded syringes," says Gale. "What this will do is it will make it possible for single and double doses to go to remote communities when they only need a small amount of vaccines."
"It also makes it possible to then stack these for areas that are here in town," he says. "Perhaps you want to have a vaccine clinic here at a high school; this is a great way to move all of the vaccine syringes all together at the same time."
Each tray holds seven pre-drawn syringes and is designed to fit inside the standard portable cooler used by public health. On average, coolers used can hold up to 10 of the fully loaded trays, for approximately 70 syringes per cooler.
So far, Camosun Innovates has manufactured 200 foam trays at about a cost of $3 each, with more still to come.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control distributes them to various health authorities as needed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW From yearning for a change to cost of living, why some Canadians have left or may leave the country
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
NEW Capital gains tax change 'shortsighted' and 'sows division' business groups tell Freeland
Forging ahead with increasing Canada's capital gains inclusion rate 'sows division,' and is a 'shortsighted' way to improve the deficit, business groups are warning Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Florida deputies who fatally shot U.S. airman burst into wrong apartment, attorney says
Deputies responding to a disturbance call at a Florida apartment complex burst into the wrong unit and fatally shot a Black U.S. Air Force airman who was home alone when they saw he was armed with a gun, an attorney for the man's family said Wednesday.
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.