Ontario ice cream company to provide freezers for vaccine storage

As soon as Ashley Chapman, vice-president of Chapman’s Ice Cream, learned that the Pfizer-BioNTech COIVID-19 vaccine must be stored in temperatures below -70 C, he started looking for a freezer that would fit the bill. As an ice cream company that has been in business for many years, Chapman has useful contacts in the freezer business.

Chapman’s parents, who started the business 47 years ago, signed on to be part of Canada’s pandemic response plan in the 1980s. The family has known since then that if called upon, they would offer their facilities as storage for a nationwide vaccine distribution program.

The company’s new freezers are expected to arrive soon, and Dr. Ian Arra, chief medical officer for the Grey Bruce Health Unit has confirmed they are working with the company on vaccine storage.

Ashley Chapman is happy to be doing something to help healthcare professionals.

"Really, my heart goes out to our health professionals — Dr. Arra, his entire team, nurses, EMTs, all of them," Chapman said to CBC.

"The pressures that they have been under since the beginning of this, and anything that we can do to just help them see the light at the end of the tunnel and then just, you know, maintain for a few more months, is more than worth than any price."

Source: CBC Radio