There are many reasons that vaccines are transported, whether it is to bring vaccines to a satellite site, to run an off-site immunization clinic, or to move vaccines prior to a storm or other event that triggered the site's vaccine emergency management plan.

How safe are your vaccines during a power outage? Unfortunately, even if you have a medical grade refrigerator and freezer, it might not keep your vaccines in the proper temperature range throughout an emergency.

It may be time consuming, but monitoring and logging vaccine temperatures is essential when storing vaccines. In fact, monitoring vaccine storage temperature plays a key role in maintaining the cold chain of vaccines and ensuring that vaccine effectiveness is not compromised. 

If you've worked with vaccines for a long time, a typical upright pharmaceutical or standard refrigerator is likely what comes to mind when you think of vaccine refrigeration. You may not even be aware that there is another option when considering a new refrigerator. 

The United States Department of Health's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just released the latest version of its vaccine toolkit. This updated 2020 document lays out the best practices and government recommendations for storing and handling vaccines. It’s an essential set of guidelines for anyone who works with vaccines.

Off-site Immunization Clinic Solution: Keep Vaccines in Temperature Range
The TempArmour® Vaccine Carrier stayed in temperature range for a total of 2.5 days when opened every 5 minutes over a 10 hour period! See the Test Results below!

Ever wonder how long your cooler will stay in range at your off-site Immunization Clinic? This is a question that we are often asked about the TempArmour® Vaccine Carrier.

 The CDC Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit outlines the best practices for vaccine storage and handling based on Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) guidelines, product information from vaccine manufacturers, and scientific studies. Supporting information, recommendations and resources are included in the Toolkit.

For the most part, all the information that was in the 2018 version is still in the 2019 Toolkit, and in the same order and sections, with several small changes throughout. The reduction in length of the Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit from 81 pages to 48 pages is primarily due to a more compact font, formatting and Table of Contents. The document layout and many of the graphics have also been redesigned.