Canadian Immunization Guide 2006
Canadian Immunization Guide
Seventh Edition - 2006
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Part 1
General Guidelines
Storage and Handling of Immunizing
Agents
Immunizing agents are biologic materials
that are subject to gradual loss of potency from deterioration
and denaturation. Loss of potency can be accelerated under
certain conditions of transport, storage and handling, and may
result in failure to stimulate an adequate immunologic response,
leading to lower levels of protection against disease.
Conditions that result in loss of potency vary among
products.
The province or territory should follow
Public Health Agency of Canada guidelines to ensure that the
manufacturer monitors the cold chain during the shipment of
vaccine. Also, the province or territory should have a standard
for monitoring shipments to regions, public health units and
private offices. Manufacturer and NACI recommendations generally
specify that most products should be stored at temperatures from
+2º to +8º C. Exceptions exist (e.g., yellow fever) for
which the recommended storage conditions are -30º to
+5º C, as outlined in the manufacturer's product leaflets.
The term "cold chain" as
used in this statement refers to all equipment and procedures
used to ensure that vaccines are protected from inappropriate
temperatures and light, from the time of transport from the
manufacturer to the time of administration.
The effects of exposure to adverse
environmental conditions, such as freezing, heat and light, are
cumulative. Data are available to indicate that certain products
remain stable at temperatures outside of +2º to +8º C
for specified periods of time, but mechanisms rarely exist for
monitoring the effect of cumulative exposures. Additionally,
different products are often transported and stored in the same
container. Therefore, it is recommended that all biologics for
immunization be maintained at +2º to +8º C at all
times, unless otherwise specified in the product leaflet.
Management of products that have been exposed to adverse
conditions should be guided by specific instructions pertaining
to the conditions from the vaccine supplier.
Monitoring of the vaccine cold chain is
required to ensure that biologics are being stored and
transported at recommended temperatures. Testing of product
potency or seroconversion rates as indicators of cold chain
integrity are rarely feasible.
Refer to the product leaflet of each
immunizing agent for specific instructions related to storage
and handling. The following general principles apply.
Multidose vials
Multidose vials should be removed from
the refrigerator only to draw up the dose required and should be
replaced immediately. Although the practice of drawing vaccines
and leaving them in the refrigerator in advance of administration
is strongly discouraged (see the Vaccine Administration Practices chapter), two exceptions are noted:
- Pre-loading of syringes in the hospital
setting where vaccines are drawn up and labeled in the pharmacy.
Strict adherence to cold chain procedure for transport of the
vaccine to the ward and patient bedside is required.
- Pre-loading of syringes in an
immunization clinic setting. This may be considered in order to
facilitate the flow of the clinic. Proper labeling and adherence
to cold chain is required
Vaccine providers should observe strict
aseptic technique when using multidose vials. Multidose vials
should be dated once entered and used only for the period of time
specified in the manufacturer's product leaflet. If no
directions are given the vaccine should not be used beyond 30
days after initial entry into the vial.
Lyophilized (freeze-dried)
vaccines
For optimal potency, freeze-dried
vaccines (e.g., measles, mumps rubella [MMR], varicella, Bacille
Calmette-Guérin [BCG], Haemophilus influenzae type b) should be reconstituted immediately before use
with the diluent provided for that purpose. Reconstituted
vaccines, including yellow fever vaccine, should be used within 1
hour of reconstitution; if unused, they should be discarded.
There are slight variations in the time intervals recommended by
specific manufacturers, and users should refer to the product
leaflet to guide timing of reconstitution.
Light exposure
MMR, varicella and BCG vaccines should
be protected from light at all times by storage of the vials in
the cartons provided. After reconstitution, if vaccines are not
used immediately, they must be kept at
+2º to +8º C, protected from light and used within the
time frame recommended in the product leaflet.
Freezing
Vaccine providers are reminded that the
maintenance of cold chain also requires that vaccines not be
exposed to temperatures lower than those recommended. Liquid inactivated and adsorbed vaccines should not be
used if they have been frozen. These include Tdap, DTaP, DT,
DTaP-Polio, DT-Polio, Td, Td-Polio, hepatitis A and B vaccines,
influenza, pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccines.
Before use, liquid vaccines should be inspected and should not be
used if the usual appearance is altered or a temperature
recording device shows that the vaccine was exposed to
temperatures below zero.
Expiry
Vaccines should not be used beyond their
expiry date. For expiry dates specified as month/year, products
are deemed to expire on the last day of the specified month. The
error of administration of expired vaccine should be reported to
the local public health authority.
Disposal of spoiled or expired
vaccines
All vaccines that cannot be used because
of expiry or adverse environmental exposure should be returned to
the source for appropriate recording of returns and disposal or
should be appropriately disposed of according to local or
regional standards.
Refrigerators
The temperature in frost-free
refrigerators may cycle widely and should be monitored to ensure
that cycling is within the acceptable range. Special
maximum-minimum thermometers are commercially available for
purchase and are useful for most office storage. Vaccine
providers should record daily current maximum and minimum
refrigerator temperatures and contact the local public health
unit if vaccines are exposed to temperatures outside the
recommended range. More expensive, constant chart-recording
thermometers with alarms are appropriate for larger vaccine
storage depots. Non- frost-free refrigerators should be defrosted
regularly and immunizing agents stored in a functioning
refrigerator during the defrosting process. Refrigerators older than 10 years are
more likely to malfunction and to have breaks in the seal around
the door, leading to temperature instability. Half-size/under the counter/bar
refrigerators are less reliable than full-size kitchen
refrigerators. Vaccine providers in private practice will
discover that the cost of replacing ageing bar refrigerators with
newer and full-size equipment is offset by the savings in
hydroelectric power and staff time dealing with reporting and
fixing cold chain breaks.
Placement of full, plastic water bottles
in the lower compartment and door shelves of the refrigerator
and ice packs in the freezer compartment will help stabilize
temperatures, especially in the event of a power
failure.
Recommended office
procedures
The following office procedures should
be implemented to ensure that storage of vaccines is
optimized:
- Designate and train a specific staff
person to be responsible for managing vaccines.
- Post storage and handling guidelines on
the refrigerator.
- Use insulated storage containers with
ice packs for transport of vaccines; to avoid freezing, do not
place vaccine packages in direct contact with ice packs.
Practitioners transporting vaccines out of the office (e.g., to
housebound seniors) should observe these cold chain precautions
as well.
- When transporting vaccines, keep a log
of pre- and post-transport vaccine temperatures and the specific
batches transported.
- Place newly delivered vaccines into the
refrigerator immediately upon delivery to the office.
- Store vaccines in the middle of the
refrigerator to avoid the coldest and warmest parts of the
refrigerator; do not store vaccines on the door
shelves.
- Place a maximum-minimum thermometer on
the middle shelf of the fridge.
- Read, record and re-set the thermometer
at least once daily.
- Secure the electrical cord from the
fridge to the wall outlet to prevent accidental power
interruptions.
- Ensure that the fridge door does not
accidentally swing open by installing a fail-safe (e.g.,
Velcro™) closing mechanism.
- Do not store food or biologic specimens
in the same fridge as vaccines.
- Rotate stock so that vaccines with the
earliest expiry date are at the front of the shelf. Place expired
vaccine into a marked box in the refrigerator for appropriate
disposal, based on consultation with local public health
authorities.
- Vaccine should only be removed from the
refrigerator immediately prior to administration.
- If refrigerator malfunction is suspected
on the basis of temperature readings, obtain servicing
immediately and store the vaccine in an alternative refrigerator
in the meantime.
- In the event of an identified cold
chain break, seek advice from your local public health authority
about whether the vaccine(s) may continue to be used; while
awaiting advice, keep the vaccines stored in appropriate cold chain conditions and ensure
that they are not administered until a determination has been
made by the public health authority.
- When a cold chain break is identified
after vaccine has been administered, consult with the local
health department about management of the situation. Information
required to assess the circumstances will include the name of the
vaccine(s), and the duration and temperatures of exposure. People
immunized with vaccines whose potency is likely to have been
jeopardized may need to be tested for serologic evidence of
immunity or be re-vaccinated.
Ongoing cold chain monitoring should be
integrated into immunization practice. Periodic cold chain
surveys are worthwhile to evaluate awareness, equipment and
practices as well as the frequency of breaks in the cold chain
during transport from depots and storage in peripheral offices. These should be undertaken by
provincial/territorial and local immunization
programs.
Selected references
Carrasco P, Herrera C, Rancruel D et
al. Protecting vaccines from
freezing in extremely cold environments. Canada Communicable Disease Report
1995;21(11):97-101.
Cheyne J. Vaccine delivery management. Reviews of Infectious Diseases 1989;11(S3):
S617-S622.
Deasy T, Deshpande R, Jaiyeola A et
al. Evaluating the cold chain in
Ontario: results of a province-wide study. Public Health Epidemiological Report,
Ontario 1997;8(3):44-52.
Dimayuga RC, Scheifele DW, Bell
A. Survey of vaccine storage
practices: Is your office refrigerator satisfactory? British Columbia Medical Journal
1996;38(2):74-7.
Gold MS, Martin L, Nayda CL et
al. Electronic temperature
monitoring and feedback to correct adverse vaccine storage in
general practice. Medical
Journal of Australia 1999;171(2):83-4.
Guthridge SL, Miller NC. Cold chain in a hot climate. Australian and New Zealand Journal of
Public Health 1996;20(6):657-60.
Health Canada. Guidelines for temperature control of drug products
during storage and transportation. Ottawa: Health Canada, 2005. URL:
<http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/compli-conform/gmp-bpf/docs/gui-0069_tc-tm_e.html>.
Accessed November 17, 2005.
Health Canada. National guidelines for vaccine storage and
transportation. Canada
Communicable Disease Report 1995;21(11):93-7.
Jeremijenko A, Kelly H, Sibthorpe B et
al. Improving vaccine storage in
general practice refrigerators.
British Medical Journal 1996;312(7047):1651-52.
Kendal AP, Snyder R, Garrison PJ. Validation of cold chain procedures
suitable for distribution of vaccines by public health programs
in the USA. Vaccine
1997;15(12-13):1459-65.
Krugman RD, Meyer BC, Enterline JC et
al. Impotency of live-virus
vaccines as a result of improper handling in clinical
practice. Journal of Pediatrics
1974;85(4):512-14.
Lerman SJ, Gold E. Measles in children previously vaccinated against
measles. Journal of the American
Medical Association 1971;216(8):1311-14.
Milhomme P. Cold chain study: danger of freezing
vaccines. Canada Communicable
Disease Report 1993;19(5):33-8.
Steinmetz N, Furesz J, Reinhold C et
al. Storage conditions of live
measles, mumps and rubella virus vaccines in Montreal. Canadian Medical Association Journal
1983;128(2):162-63.
Woodyard E, Woodyard L, Alto WA. Vaccine storage in the physician's
office: a community study. Journal of the American Board of Family Practice
1995;8(2):91-4.
World Health Organization. Expanded programme on immunization:
stability of vaccines. Weekly
Epidemiological Record 1990;65(30):233-35.
World Health Organization. Report of the Technical Review Group
Meeting, 7-8 June 1998: achievements and plan of activities, July
1998-June 1999. Geneva: World
Health Organization, 1998 (Technical Report Series, No.
98.02).
Yuan L, Daniels S, Naus M et al. Vaccine storage and handling: knowledge
and practice in primary care physicians' offices. Canadian Family Physician
1995;41:1169-76.
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