Vaccine Storage Requirements

Vaccines require a storage temperature range of between 2°C and 8°C.

Temperatures outside of this range can cause a vaccine to lose its “immunogenicity,” or its ability to affect the human immune system.


However, the excerpt below from the UK Health Security Agency Vaccine Incident Guidance report suggests that this is not all catastrophic.

Generally, vaccines available for use in the UK are very stable and able to withstand short temperature excursions outside the recommended temperature range. Where vaccines have been stored either above or below the +2°C to +8°C range for longer periods of time, any loss of potency, although irreversible, is likely to be gradual rather than immediate or complete. Therefore, a failure to adhere to vaccine storage recommendations may not necessarily mean vaccines have been impaired to such an extent as to render them unusable.

Read the UK Health Security Agency Vaccine Incident Guidance Report HERE
 

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When Are My Vaccines Compromised?

Minor temperature deviations may be tolerable
Slight excursions of just a few tenths of a degree outside the standard +2 °C to +8 °C range may not always constitute a breach. Many manufacturers allow rounding of temperatures (for example, +1.5 °C as +2 °C or +8.4 °C as +8 °C), so excursions between +1.5 °C and +8.4 °C may still be considered within acceptable limits.


Short-lived “spikes” are likely not compromising
A one-off temperature spike above +8 °C that lasts less than about 20 minutes—such as during restocking or inventory checks—is unlikely to constitute a cold-chain breach and usually does not require corrective action, assuming appropriate temperature monitoring and documentation is in place.


Time-limited removal before use—maximum 12 hours below 25 °C
Vaccines may be removed from refrigeration once and kept only briefly at temperatures not exceeding 25 °C—and certainly no longer than 12 hours—before administration.


Discard unused vaccines after 12 hours at ambient temperature
Any vaccine not used within 12 hours of removal—even if stored below 25 °C—should be discarded to ensure potency and patient safety.

Disclaimer: Always consult specific manufacturer guidance or authoritative cold-chain protocols when assessing whether an excursion has compromised a vaccine.
 

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Have You Invested in A Data Logger?

This invaluable device may just save you from destroying thousands of pounds worth of vaccines!

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