CONCORD, N.C. — Pfizer delivered nearly 7,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Novant Health.
The vaccine must be kept at 94 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
It’s something CMC Industrial Services Owner Mike Coleman knows about.
“You most definitely need to be wearing gloves to protect your hands,” Coleman says.
Coleman's company was recently chosen by Pfizer to provide dry ice to hospitals, like Novant Health and Atrium Health, so they can safely store the vaccine. Coleman says his business will be the only one in the state to help.
“We’re just supporting our heroes on the front-line health care workers. We’re just providing a small part of that and making it easier for them, ” he says.
Before the pandemic, CMC Industrial Services handled millions of pounds of dry ice a year, but now it's expanding to start manufacturing the carbon dioxide on its own.
“The volume that we’re gonna be producing is going to allow people to have the freshest and most secure ice that they can get, ” Coleman says.
Coleman says the company will increase its volume to meet any demand.
“As we go along we’ll grow and expand that to 60,000 pounds all the way up to 80,000 pounds,” Coleman says.