In less than 5 minutes, start tracking the cold chain of vaccines and medicines in your fridge.
- Place the temperature sensor in your fridge.
- Attach the data logger to the outside of the fridge using the supplied magnet.
- Switch on the data logger.
- Log on to thermotrack-webserve.com with the supplied login and password.
That’s it ! The alarm thresholds are already programmed between 2 and 8°C, the temperature required for vaccines in the pharmacy refrigerator.
At what temperature should vaccines be stored?
The storage temperature of most vaccines is between +2 and +8 degrees Celsius. Vaccine that is improperly stored should not be administered. If it freezes, the vaccine becomes dangerous. If it exceeds 8 degrees, the vaccine loses its effectiveness the longer the temperature excursion lasts (cumulative effect).
The recent Covid 19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNtech can be stored at -70°C. It can also be stored at +2 +8 degrees during the transport and distribution phase at the vaccination center.
See Pfizer’s cold chain specifications here.
Cold chain management in a pharmacy
The UK NHS and its Specialist Pharmacy Service has published on March 5th, 2021 aguide to maintain the COVID-19 vaccines cold chain.
Particularly, it is required that “Temperatures in the refrigerator must be monitored and recorded at least once each working day, and documented on a chart for recording temperatures… The records should be readily accessible, be retained for at least one year, and cover the full storage history of any products contained in the fridge. As shelf lives specified by vaccine manufacturers can be up to four years or longer, retaining records for five years will generally enable the full storage history of the vaccines be accounted for.”
You can also download from here the Quick Reference guide for Refrigerators for Covid-19 vaccine storage.
Our other articles on the subject :
Covid-19 vaccines : how to control temperature during storage and transport ?
Covid-19 vaccine temperature monitoring : requirements and practical solutions
The cold chain and logistics of pharmaceutical products