Updates
- Most of the 2011 language was removed because this content is now codified and continually updated in the CDC’s Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit. This content included Storage Units, Monitoring Storage Temperature, Vaccine Inventory, and Vaccine Transport.
General Principles
- Failure to adhere to recommended specifications for storage and handling of immunobiologics can reduce or destroy their potency, resulting in inadequate or no immune response in the recipient. Recommendations in the product package inserts, including methods for reconstitution of the vaccine, should be followed carefully. Maintenance of vaccine quality is the shared respo…
Storage Temperature
- Vaccines licensed for refrigerator storage should be stored at 2°C-8°C (36°F-46°F). Liquid vaccines containing an aluminum adjuvant permanently lose potency when exposed to freezing temperatures. Non-live vaccines that are stored in a liquid state (i.e., non-lyophilized [freeze-dried]) but that do not contain aluminum adjuvants should also generall...
Expiration Dates and Windows
- All vaccines have an expiration date determined by the manufacturer that must be observed. Providers should record the vaccine expiration dates and lot numbers on a stock or inventory record for each vaccine vial when a shipment is received. When vaccines are removed from storage, clinicians and other health-care providers should note whether an expiration window exi…
Response to out-of-range Temperature Reading
- An out-of-range temperature reading should prompt immediate action. A plan should be developed ahead of time to address various types of emergencies that might require removal of vaccine from the original storage unit. Transfer of vaccines to a predesignated alternative emergency storage site might be necessary if a temperature problem cannot be resolved immed…
References
- Kroger A, Atkinson W, Pickering L. General immunization practices. In: Plotkin S, Orenstein W, Offit P, eds. Vaccines. 6th ed. China: Elsevier Saunders; 2013:88-111.
- MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2003;52(42):1023-1025.