March 23, 2021
PHC Corporation of North America
Wood Dale, IL - A new CDC-sponsored NSF/ANSI standard (NSF 456) will make it easier to identify qualified animal vaccine storage products. The new standard is anticipated to be released as early as March 2021. It outlines the importance of ensuring protection from freezing, tight temperature uniformity, rapid recovery following door openings and other requirements essential to continued vaccine viability.
Animal vaccines, like vaccines for humans, have specific storage requirements. The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) references CDC guidelines for storage and handling of vaccines and states that most vaccines for animals should be stored between 2°C and 8°C (35°F and 46°F).
According to the AAHA, exposure to any unacceptable conditions can affect any refrigerated vaccine's potency, but a single exposure to freezing temperatures (0°C [32°F] or colder) can destroy potency. Liquid vaccines containing an aluminum adjuvant can permanently lose potency when exposed to freezing temperatures.
Even when exposed to freezing temperatures, vaccines may not appear frozen. A frozen vaccine that has lost potency also looks no different than a viable vaccine.
To ensure that animal vaccines retain viability, it is therefore essential to store them in purpose-built refrigerators. These high performance units are specifically designed to ensure uniformity, temperature recovery after door openings and reliability - the three most important factors for safe vaccine storage.
PHC Corporation of North America provides time-tested vaccine refrigerators that ensure uniform temperatures between 2°C and 8°C (35°F and 46°F) despite high ambient temperatures or frequent door openings.
Learn more at https://www.phchd.com/us/biomedical/preservation/pharmaceutical-refrigerators.