It seems as if every study that examines vaccine storage practices finds some level of poor refrigeration procedures.

Anyone involved with the distribution or administration of vaccines should know about the importance of maintaining the cold chain. Part of the reason they should know is the existence of studies like this 1992 work from a group of Ontario, Canada researchers.  They surveyed cold chain knowledge and maintenance in 135 clinical centers in and near Toronto.  Only 10 percent of the centers monitored their vaccine refrigerator temperatures with an independent thermometer.  They also found that older refrigerators were less likely to maintain the proper recommended temperature range of between 2 and 8 degrees centrigrade.

For further information visit www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

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