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By: Staff Reporter

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center has received a NUAIRE -86 degree Celsius (-122.8 Fahrenheit) ultra-low temp freezer ahead of next week’s anticipated delivery of 975 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

The freezer will be kept at -80 degrees Celsius to accommodate the vaccine, which requires a temperature of -70 degrees Fahrenheit. The freezer is housed in a secure room that has been modified to provide the additional electricity needed to operate it.

Accessed only by those wearing special cryogenic gloves, the freezer door can only be open for 60 to 90 seconds before being closed again for hours. In addition, the medical center is in talks with the Niagara County Health Department to share the freezer if space is needed on their end.

“We are so fortunate to have ordered this piece of equipment several months ago as there is now a four or five-month backlog to place an order,” said Memorial President & CEO Joseph A. Ruffolo.

“We’ve received it just in time for the arrival of the vaccine and we are ready to safely store and distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to our staff, nursing home residents, and community.”