The Drummondville Biogivre SME was chosen by the federal government to prepare the dry ice at the temperature of -78.5 degrees necessary for the distribution of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, which has just been approved by Health Canada, has learned The newspaper.
“I obtained the contract by order from the federal government for Quebec, part of Ontario and the Maritimes. Ottawa will prepare them according to their needs. We do not yet know the amount of ice needed, ”confirmed to Journal Mélanie Beaudoin, founder and president of Biogivre, an SME in Center-du-Québec. In recent days, the businesswoman, who manages a team of ten employees, has learned that she would have a crucial role to play in making the famous dry ice for transporting vaccines.
Photo Martin Alarie
Mélanie Beaudoin is the founder and president of Biogivre, a Drummondville company that produces dry ice at -78.5 degrees. She says she recently received calls from pharmaceuticals and is perfectly able to meet the demand.
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“It is difficult to quantify the quantity of dry ice that will be necessary because it sublimes, that is to say it goes from a solid state to a gaseous state, a bit like carbon dioxide in a carbonated drink, which no longer becomes sparkling at some point when the gas has evaporated, ”she said.
The entrepreneur was on the phone with The newspaper when Health Canada gave the green light to the use of Pfizer / BioNTech’s vaccine on Wednesday morning as Canada became the third country to approve it after the United Kingdom and Bahrain.
General repetition
By Friday, the SME is preparing to deliver “test orders” to places kept secret to perform a dress rehearsal for the next delivery of real vaccines.
“I will take it to these places determined by the provinces and territories. I will also subcontract some to pharmaceutical companies, ”she explained.
Wednesday, The newspaper pointed out that organized crime could attack the distribution network of valuable COVID-19 vaccines, according to international law enforcement agencies, such as INTERPOL.
“I will never come into contact with vaccines. I will never have the vaccines in my possession. All I do is deliver the dry ice, ”said Mélanie Beaudoin from Biogivre.
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