Covid-19 vaccine distribution continues to pose increasing logistical complexities, as health systems and clinics must manage more patient groups requiring a wider range of vaccine and booster options.

 Read on to learn how to effectively manage multiple vaccine manufacturers and their varying storage temperature requirements. We’ll also discuss tracking primary and booster shots and how to effectively set up systems that help streamline these processes.

Managing Multiple COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturers

Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna^®, and Johnson & Johnson^® have produced vaccines with multiple storage temperature options that change the expiration based on the storage temperature. Furthermore, they have all released additional vials with different NDCs for varying age groups. Proper Covid-19 vaccine inventory management is essential for appropriate vaccine ordering ensuring your practice has the vaccines your patients need. With the addition of tracking booster doses along with primary doses, tracking lot numbers and expirations correctly has never been more critical to ensuring proper vaccine management.

Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Storage Temperature

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can be stored between -80 and -60°C until the expiration date. If you keep the vaccines in the dry ice thermal shipper, replenish the dry ice on day 1 and day 5 of the storage period. You can also store this vaccine in a freezer unit between -25 and -15°C for up to 2 weeks.

This vaccine needs to be thawed and reconstituted before use. You can thaw the vials in a refrigerator unit between 2 and 8°C for 3 hours, or at room temperature (up to 25°C) for 30 minutes. Once the vaccines have been thawed and reconstituted, they cannot be refrozen. They can, however, stay safely in the refrigerator for up to 31 days.

Store punctured vials in a refrigerator unit between 2 to 8°C for up to 5 days or at room temperature (up to 25°C) for no more than 6 hours to prevent bacterial contamination.

Moderna Vaccine Storage Temperature

The Moderna vaccine can be stored in a freezer unit between -25 and -15°C until the expiration date. You can also store the vaccine in a refrigerator unit between 2 to 8°C for up to 30 days.

If stored in a freezer unit, this vaccine needs to be thawed before use. You can thaw the vials in a refrigerator unit between 2 and 8°C for 2 hours and 30 minutes, or at room temperature (up to 25°C) for 1 hour. Once the vaccines have been thawed, they cannot be returned to the freezer.

Store punctured vials in a refrigerator unit between 2 to 8°C for up to 30 days or at room temperature (up to 25°C) for no more than 12 hours to prevent bacterial contamination.

Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Storage Temperature

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be stored in a refrigerator unit between 2 to 8°C until the expiration date. Once the vials have been punctured, they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to another 6 hours. After this time, if the vaccines have not been used, they must be discarded.

This vaccine can also be stored at room temperature for up to 12 hours before puncture and for up to 6 hours after puncture.

Protecting Vaccines from Temperature Excursions

Temperature excursion events can be the result of poor-quality storage equipment, improperly closing the vaccine fridge door, power outages and more. Whatever the cause, if your inventory falls out of the proper temperature ranges the vaccines may have to be discarded. To prevent waste and safeguard your vaccines a vaccine storage and monitoring system you can rely on is crucial during this busy immunization boom. The following technology can help protect your vaccines by ensuring correct vaccine storage temperatures.

Vaccine Temperature Monitoring

Manual vaccine temperature monitoring requires time and vigilance. A member of your team needs to log temperatures in the morning and evening each day. Even with daily monitoring, temperature excursion events can still take place between these daily check-ins and lead to even more manual action. All out-of-range temperatures need to be logged and looked into. Your team member may also need to contact the vaccine manufacturer or local or state health department to determine whether the vaccines can still be used.

The AccuShelf Inventory Management System provides integration with digital data loggers which can be attached to any cold storage device, including dry ice containers and ultra-low freezers. Ultra-low and standard vaccine temperature monitoring allows you to maintain the correct COVID-19 vaccine storage temperatures and track movement between storage units. With real-time temperature alerts, you can react quickly to any temperature excursions that might put your vaccines at risk.

 

Purpose-Built Vaccine Storage

Household combination storage units are often unable to reach and maintain COVID-19 vaccine storage temperatures. These devices have both a freezer and refrigerator compartment, but they cannot store a variety of vaccines at different temperature ranges. All vaccine stock loading and rotation is also done by hand, adding many additional non-clinical hours to staff time.

Trumed’s Accuvax Vaccine Management System provides the ultimate solution for managing the complexities of Covid-19 vaccines. Temperature monitoring and adjustments, real-time inventory, stock rotation, and detailed information for vaccine audits are all handled by Accuvax, saving your staff hours each month and cutting down on errors and wasted supplies.

In addition, AccuVax has a patented door-less design, allowing vaccines to be loaded and dispensed with minimal opening, ensuring temperatures stay constant, even during heavy use. In the event of a power outage, the built-in battery power back-up maintains temperatures consistent for 8 hours or more, while the alerting suite instantly informs you of the power and temperature situation.

Schedule a demo today to learn how TruMed Systems can help you protect your COVID-19 vaccines for a more effective immunization program at your practice.