Vaccine Carriers : An Important Device Of Storage Solutions

Vaccine Carriers: An Important Device Of Storage Solutions Storage bins comes in all forms, shapes and sizes and fulfil different purposes for different industries. In the healthcare industry, vaccine carriers are very important and form an integral part of storage solutions.

What are Vaccine Carriers?

Cold boxes, vaccine carriers and coolant packs are used for keeping vaccines cold during transportation. In comparison with cold boxes, vaccine carriers have a smaller volume, suitable for use by health workers during immunization campaigns and out-reach services. As these are passive devices of storage solutions, coolant packs are accessories for both cold boxes and vaccine carriers providing the cooling energy/warming for a limited time period.

Vaccine carriers are insulated storage bins that, when lined with coolant packs, keep vaccines and diluents cold during transportation. They are smaller than cold boxes and are easier to carry when walking. They are used for transporting vaccines from health facilities with refrigeration to outreach sessions where refrigeration and ice are not available. They are typically carried by a single health worker travelling on foot or by other means, where the combined journey time and immunization activity ranges from a few hours to a

whole day. The vaccine storage capacity of vaccine carriersis between 0.1 and 5.0 litres.

Here are the features of a large vaccine carrier: Confirming to WHO standards, these vaccine carriers are tested extensively at WHO approved testing laboratories such as Cemafroid, France. These portable, easy to carry cold vaccine storage binscome with a reinforced bottom to take care of wear and tear and also have a slot for securing the carrying belt.       

Confirm to WHO specifications E004/VC01 VP.2 Vaccine Storage Capacity [2.736ltr] Weight fully loaded [6.4kgs] Weight Empty [2.32kg] Insulation Material [CFC free Polyurethene] Insulation Thickness [28 to 58mm] Number of ice packs required - 4

Similar to large vaccine storage bins in terms of quality and material (except for size), here are the features of a small vaccine carrier:       

Confirm to WHO specifications E004/VC01 VP.2 Vaccine Storage Capacity [0.91ltr] Weight fully loaded [2.4kgs] Weight Empty [1.3kg] Insulation Material [CFC free Polyurethene] Insulation Thickness [35 to 45mm] Number of ice packs required – 2

Currently, there are several methods that may be used to keep vaccines within the recommended 0°C to +10°C when storing or transporting vaccines in vaccine carriers:  Frozen ice packs placed directly into a vaccine carrier will cause the internal temperatures of the carrier to drop below 0°C, thus, exposing freeze-sensitive vaccines to damaging temperatures.  The use of conditioned ice packs has long been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to avoid freezing vaccines, however, conditioning is a process that takes time and advanced planning. Cold chain surveys have shown that this practice is difficult to enforce and is widely ignored.  Cool water packs are an excellent choice for preventing vaccine freezing when travel distances are short. This method requires refrigerator space and time to cool to a temperature between 2°C to 8°C prior to use.

The WHO has recently developed specifications for freezesafe cold boxes and are in the process of developing specifications for freeze-safe vaccine carriers as well. This would positively affect storage solutions for the healthcare industry all over the world.