More Work Needed To Ensure Proper Storage of Vaccines.

2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) --

by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A new report in Pediatrics suggests that pediatrician offices may be falling short on standards to ensure proper handling and storage of vaccines.

K.N. Bell and researchers at Emory University, Atlanta, surveyed 221 private pediatricians' offices in Georgia, nearly half of which had previously been sent vaccine storage standards from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an intervention measure.

"Preventing loss of vaccine potency during storage and handling is increasingly important as new, more expensive vaccines are introduced, in at least one case requiring a different approach to storage," emphasized Bell and coworkers.

Trained graduate students visited the sites after obtaining permission. At least two months before the site visits, the intervention group received the CDC draft Guideline for Vaccine Storage and Handling.

The graduate students measured refrigerator and freezer temperatures with digital thermometers and evaluated staff training, use of written guidelines, receipt of vaccine deliveries, management of problems, number of patients, type of office, type of medical specialty, and the professional educational level of the office vaccine coordinator.

Bell and team found that 44% of offices had at least one documented storage problem, 17% had freezer temperatures measuring >=-14(degree)C, 9% had expired vaccines, and 4.5% had refrigerator temperatures >=9(degree)C.