Most of the vaccines will require very special storage requirements. If those needs are not met it can reduce the potency of the vaccine and it can become ineffective. The vaccines should be stored properly from the moment they are produced until they are administrative. Therefore, this is a shared responsibility of the manufacturer, distributor as well as a healthcare provider.
What Are The Most Common Storage Conditions?
In most cases, the vaccines should be stored in a refrigerator that is somewhere between 2 to 8 degrees. Even though there is room for movement the preferred temperature is 5⁰C, but there are some vaccines that require to be frozen and be kept in a range from -15 to -50⁰C. On top of that, they need to be protected from any kind of UV light as it can be damaging to the vaccine.
Vaccines that have live viruses can tolerate freezing temperatures very well and they will deteriorate when deforested. Inactivated vaccines require temperatures from 2-8⁰C and they are very easily damaged if exposed to temperature extremes. The commonly disturbed vaccines like mumps, rubella, and measles all need to be refrigerated or frozen, while some like the MMRV and those which contain the varicella viruses vaccines must be frozen. There are some manufacturers that will recommend that you should store the concentrated form at one single temperature and the prepared diluted form. If those steps are necessary, they shouldn’t be prepared more than thirty minutes in advance. On the other side, you will have those vaccines that will need to be slowly defrosted in the refrigerator. The vaccines that contain the live virus should be deforested for 72 hours before getting into use. Those are vaccines such as ones that have varicella.
There have been researches that have found that 75-100% of vaccines are exposed to freezing temperatures at one point from coming to the administration. There are several fixes that have been recommended as well as applied. This includes using things like cool water packs rather than having ice packs as well as training the vaccine handles to know new techniques and knowing what to look out for. But at the end of the day, allowing the vaccines to get warmer than above 8⁰C is preferable to having them freeze.
Refrigerator storage units
There are different grades of refrigerators that are typically used as well as types. The purpose-built units are also referred to as the “pharmaceutical grade vaccine refrigerator”. Refrigerators like these ones are specifically designed for biologists so they can store things properly. Units like these are equipped with digital temperature sensors that will control the temperature as well as powerful fans that provide air circulation for faster temperature recovery.
Recommendations Need To Be Met
The units need to be designed to freeze or refrigerate the vaccines, but if there are no purpose-built units available, a stand-alone household unit can be used. If that is the case, there are rules that need to be met. The refrigerator needs to be at the ideal temperature as well as have a door that shuts correctly. It shouldn’t be used for anything other than vaccines. The refrigerator needs to have a “Do Not Unplug” sign as well as enough space so there are at least three inches between each vial. You should also never put the vaccines in the refrigerator doors as they can fall out or get broken when closing the door.
Vaccine Placement
As we have mentioned above, vaccines should be no placed in the doors of the cooling units. Vaccines should also be placed in the middle of the selves so they are not close to the cold air vents. That can tamper with the vaccine.
Temperature Monitoring
Another very important part of storing vaccines is temperature monitoring devices. In order for a cooling unit to be certified, it needs to have a calibrated backup temperature monitoring device in case the current equipment experiences failure. Every state has different rules and regulations so that might make the calibration requirements different.
Ensure That The Staff Is Trained
Possibly the most important thing when it comes to keeping vaccines at the right temperature is having trained staff. Every single member needs to know the storage temperatures and policies for each vaccine that the pharmacy is carrying. Always keep the storage procedures as well as handling instructions so there is no mistake.
If a vaccine can be stored in a proper cooling unit, It needs to be kept in a portable storage unit that will have all the temperature requirements met. If there is any doubt that the temperature in the cooling unit isn’t meeting the criteria, the pharmacy needs to dispose of the vaccines in the right manner to prevent any mishaps.
