With flu season among us, the storage and handling of vaccines is a very important subject. Mishandling of vaccines by storing them outside the CDC recommended temperature ranges can reduce the potency of the vaccine, and potentially not provide adequate protection against the disease.
With flu season among us, the storage and handling of vaccines is a very important subject. Mishandling of vaccines by storing them outside the CDC recommended temperature ranges can reduce the potency of the vaccine, and potentially not provide adequate protection against the disease.
Two requirements for vaccine storage include having a refrigerator or freezer that can maintain the required temperature year round and the refrigerator or freezer must have a NIST certified thermometer inside. You may use a standalone refrigerator unit, standalone freezer unit, or a combination refrigerator/freezer unit. Whichever unit you use, vaccines should never be stored on the doors or in drawers. Instead, fill the doors/drawers of the refrigerator with cold packs or water bottles and the doors/drawers of the freezer with frozen packs.
Proper temperature monitoring is the key to the safety and potency of the vaccines. Temperature logs must be taken at regular intervals to ensure proper storage and it is important to keep the temperature logs for at least three years. Logging the temperatures is only the beginning. Immediate corrective action must be taken if temperatures fall outside of the recommended ranges.
With what is reported to be the worst U.S. influenza epidemic in over a decade, make sure your vaccines don’t lose their efficacy. Learn more about 24/7 wireless temperature monitoring systems by contacting E-Control Systems and see how we can work together to fight the war against disease.
Check out the CDC recommended temperature ranges, as well as the LA County Department of Public Health for additional information regarding proper storage and handling of vaccines.
