FA16 Immunization Module’s Updates

Vaccine Storage and Handling

Excessive heat or cold exposure can damage vaccines. What healthcare professionals and scientists call the “cold chain” refers to the process of maintaining optimal conditions for vaccines during its storage, transport, and handling. Vaccines can be sensitive to temperature – for example some vaccines have an aluminum adjuvant that will precipitate when frozen, resulting in a loss of vaccine potency and the adjuvant effect. Other vaccines like the varicella vaccine and LAIV need to be continuously frozen otherwise they lose potency. Vaccines themselves can either be refrigerated or frozen. Refrigerated vaccines should be stored at an ideal temperature of about 40 degrees Fahrenheit, with an ideal range of 36-46 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature goes above or below that range, the efficacy of the vaccine will be affected.  

Vaccine Temperature Storage Requirements

The CDC recommends that temperatures of the refrigerated vaccines should be checked two times a day, and records of temperatures kept for at least three years. Older vaccines should be used first, and refrigerators or freezers must be stocked in a certain manner to ensure optimal temperatures.  If the vaccine ever exceeds the optimal temperature, the health department or manufacturer of the vaccine should be contacted. Frozen vaccines should be stored within the range of -58 degrees Fahrenheit to 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Dormitory style refrigerator or freezers should not be used to store vaccines, and food should not be placed in these compartments either. It is also extremely important to have a proper thermometer inside each storage compartment, and to evaluate cold chain procedures to ensure guidelines are followed. These vaccine handling and storage requirements pose serious challenges, especially for vaccines that travel to developing countries with hot and humid climates.

Providers also need to play a role in ensuring the safety and efficacy of vaccines thru proper administration, timing and spacing of vaccine doses, properly observing precautions and contraindications.

 

Video from CDC about vaccine storage and handling:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0atwOngjVQY

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5242a6.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/figures/m242a6t1.gif

http://cdn.msf.org/sites/msf.org/files/cold-chain_infographic_feb_2014.png

  • Nadarra Stokes
  • Muhammad Ilyas
  • Andrew Hua
  • Zoe Scharf
  • Jonathan Knisley
  • Amanda Johnson