Technically Speaking: Questions about Proper Vaccine Storage and Handling?
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Vaccine Update for Healthcare ProvidersCDC’s redesigned toolkit has answers!
Quick!
- What’s the appropriate temperature range for storage of refrigerated vaccines?
- What types of devices are recommended for monitoring temperatures in vaccine storage units?
- What should be done if it is discovered vaccines have been stored at inappropriate temperatures?
- Is it acceptable to remove vaccines from their original packaging to save space during storage?
Practical answers to these and many other vaccine storage and handling questions are found in CDC’s newly redesigned 2019 Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit. This indispensable 48-page resource includes guidance on managing and storing vaccine inventory, using and maintaining storage unit and temperature monitoring equipment, preparing for emergency situations, and training staff.
The Toolkit reflects the best practices for vaccine storage and handling compiled from ACIP recommendations, product information from vaccine manufacturers, and scientific studies.
The 2019 Toolkit helps healthcare clinic staff find the information they need quickly and easily. Revisions in this new edition include:
- A reorganized layout with color-coded sections to help better navigate the toolkit
- Updated job aids and resource documents
- Updated visuals for the vaccine storage and handling recommendations and best practices
Each year, storage and handling errors result in revaccination of many patients and significant financial loss due to wasted vaccines. Failure to store and handle vaccines properly can reduce vaccine potency, resulting in inadequate immune responses in patients and poor protection against disease. Patients can lose confidence in vaccines and providers if they require revaccination because the vaccines they received may have been compromised.
Be sure to implement the best practices and recommendations outlined in the CDC Toolkit to help protect your patients, safeguard your vaccine supply, and avoid the unnecessary costs of revaccinating patients and replacing expensive vaccines.
Valuable vaccine storage and handling resources
From CDC
- Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit
- Vaccine Storage and Handling web section
- Keys to Storing and Handling Your Vaccine Supply (web-on-demand 50-minute video)
- You Call the Shots: Vaccine Storage and Handling Online Training Module
- Handling a Temperature Excursion in Your Vaccine Storage Unit
- Vaccine Storage and Handling chapter from Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (“The Pink Book”)
From IAC
- Vaccine Storage and Handling Staff Education Materials — ready-to-print resources and CDC reviewed
- Clinic Tools: Vaccine Storage and Handling webpage
- Vaccine Package Inserts webpage
Contributed by: Deborah Wexler, MD
Categories: Vaccine Update February 2019, Technically Speaking
Materials in this section are updated as new information and vaccines become available. The Vaccine Education Center staff regularly reviews materials for accuracy.
You should not consider the information in this site to be specific, professional medical advice for your personal health or for your family's personal health. You should not use it to replace any relationship with a physician or other qualified healthcare professional. For medical concerns, including decisions about vaccinations, medications and other treatments, you should always consult your physician or, in serious cases, seek immediate assistance from emergency personnel.