With mass vaccination clinics underway across the community, Niagara College is proud to support the region’s vaccination efforts with the donation of a -80 degrees ultra-low temperature freezer to Niagara Region Public Health for vaccine storage.

“We are pleased to support Niagara Region Public Health and our community members as Niagara moves forward in its vaccine rollout,” said Marc Nantel, PhD, vice president, Research & External Relations. “This freezer will aid Niagara Region Public Health to safely store and administer the COVID-19 vaccine to members of our community.”

The donated ultra-low freezer has a capacity of 13 cubic feet and was previously located at the Niagara-on-the-Lake campus where it was used in a lab within the Canadian Food & Wine Institute Innovation Centre. When that specific lab was decommissioned, the College looked for a way to ensure the freezer met a community need.

“As the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine requires specialized storage, this ultra-low freezer allows the team at Niagara Region Public Health to store vaccine with seamless and secure access as we host daily vaccination clinics in communities across Niagara,” said Kim Friesen, manager, Mass Immunization, Niagara Region Public Health. “Thank you to Niagara College for their support of both Public Health and the residents of Niagara.”

The donation of the -80 ultra-low freezer is the most recent effort from Niagara College to support the community and healthcare workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, Niagara College underwent a college-wide effort to identify medical supplies to assist local healthcare workers, resulting in thousands of masks and gloves being donated to the Niagara Health system last spring.

Niagara College’s Research & Innovation division also produced 36,500 face shields and donated 17,300 of them to help Niagara Health with its increased need for protective equipment, while the Teaching Distillery produced more than 1,100 liters of a 70% alcohol disinfectant that could be used for hand sanitizer and surface wipes in response to the overwhelming demand for disinfectant in the community.

“COVID-19 has affected thousands of community members across the region and Niagara College is proud to support Niagara Region Public Health as they undertake the important work of administering vaccines to those most vulnerable in our community,” said Nantel.

For information regarding College operations and COVID-19, visit www.niagaracollege.ca/covid19.

Residents can learn more about Niagara’s immunization plans at www.niagararegion.ca/covid-vaccine.

Niagara College offers more than 130 diploma, bachelor degree and advanced level programs; as well as more than 600 credit, vocational and general interest Part-Time Studies courses. Areas of specialization include food and wine sciences, advanced technology, media, applied health and community safety, supported by unique learning enterprises in food, wine, beer, distilling, horticulture and esthetics. For more information visit niagaracollege.ca.

Photo: Niagara College recently donated a -80 ultra-low temperature freezer to Niagara Region Public Health for vaccine storage.