Maintaining Medical Refrigeration Units: Give It More Than a Shot

A study was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General concerning vaccine storage. The report, titled “Vaccines for Children Program: Vulnerabilities in Vaccine Management,” found that medical practice locations that were studied were not entirely properly storing vaccines and in other ways were not following proper vaccine management practices.

The report’s executive summary said, “Although the majority of storage temperatures we independently measured during a two-week period were within the required ranges, VFC [vaccines for children] vaccines stored by 76 percent of the 45 selected providers were exposed to inappropriate temperatures for at least 5 cumulative hours during that period. Exposure to inappropriate temperatures can reduce vaccine potency and efficacy, increasing the risk that children are not provided with maximum protection against preventable diseases. Thirteen providers stored expired vaccines together with nonexpired vaccines, increasing the risk of mistakenly administering the expired vaccine. Finally, the selected providers generally did not meet vaccine management requirements or maintain required documentation. Similarly, none of the five selected grantees met all VFC program oversight requirements, and grantee site visits were not effective in ensuring that providers met vaccine management requirements over time.”