GEORGE NEWS - A small team in George burned the candle at both ends for the past three months to ensure the distribution of over 8 000 Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses during the Sisonke Covid-19 trials in the Garden Route.
TASK Eden clinical research centre, headed by Melissa Mitchell, was right in the middle of the action when the Sisonke trial reached the district. The entire district was served by Mitchell and a team of two doctors, three pharmacists, three syringe-fillers and two support staff.
"Our role was receiving and storage of the vaccines under temperature and quality control, and keeping the relevant documentation up to date," says Mitchell.
One of the major challenges in getting 8 398 people in the Garden Route vaccinated was the distances that made it difficult for healthcare workers to travel to the main site, George Hospital.
This was solved through outreaches to the rural areas, a function that fell on TASK Eden - and Mitchell took to the road with her team. They ensured the safe distribution of vaccines to Plettenberg Bay, Beaufort West, Oudtshoorn and Mossel Bay, as well as Harry Comay when the additional site came on board.
"Much of it was about cold chain management. Our team would deliver the vials to the site at the required temperatures. It was a time-sensitive exercise," says Mitchell. "The temperatures were constantly monitored and documented. Our nurses and pharmacists would then draw up the syringes before handing them over to the vaccinators to administer the vaccines. All of this needed to be done within the time requirements as set out in the trial protocol."
Clinical trials are administration-intensive. "We document every step of the process. Each morning the representatives of the various research groups had a meeting and late in the evenings, after ensuring vaccine batches were safely distributed and administered throughout the Garden Route, we would focus on administrative duties to prepare for the next day.
"This included preparation of documents and sending out the voucher messages to ensure that informed consent is obtained from the people being vaccinated the following day."
The TASK Eden team did not get much sleep in the initial stages of the trial. Mitchell says she worked up to 19 hours a day. "But we managed to streamline the processes and things improved. In the end it was all worth it. We were part of something bigger than ourselves.
"The Sisonke trial was an absolute proof of what can be achieved through cooperation between the private and public sector, especially when we are all focused on the same goal - to bring hope to our healthcare workers who are taking care of us in this very difficult time."
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