Why Do Vaccines Need To Be Refrigerated?

Medical Refrigeration Specialists, Sensitive Pharmaceutical & Critical Medical Product Service Technicians

A fact that has come into sharp focus in the last few months is that vaccines need to be correctly refrigerated! It’s no surprise that more people in 2020/21 have become aware of this fact as most of us await the much anticipated Covid vaccine. This is a major step worldwide towards getting back to a normal life, which has been disrupted for so long. The majority of vaccines and other medicines have to be transported and stored in a very particular way. You can’t simply shove them into your fridge at home and hope for the best. They need special medical fridges that can achieve the required steady temperatures before they are safe to administer.

Why Refrigeration?

From the moment they are produced to the second they are administered to the patient, vaccines and medicines must be kept in the cold chain. The required temperature range, whether being transported or in situ is between 2°C and 8°C. A special medical fridge is used to ensure this, or a cool box during transportation.

Why A Medical Fridge?

The managed temperature control offered by a proper medical fridge is incredibly accurate, any other type of standard fridge would be totally ineffective. These fridges also include features not seen in normal refrigeration appliances, such as state of the art thermometers. These fridges can check not only the fridge temperature, but that of the vaccines. Precision built alarms will sound should the temperature rise or fall beyond the desired range. This allows healthcare practitioners to act swiftly before the precious vaccines are damaged.

What If Vaccines Are Not Refrigerated Properly?

Allowing vaccines to become damaged or unusable, could result in patients becoming endangered, and also cost money. In 2017, wasted vaccines cost the NHS £5 million! In addition, medical fridges have secure locks to prevent the ongoing problem of theft.

Where Can I Buy A Medical Fridge?

Specialists like Marcold Refrigeration & Air Conditioning have an excellent range of high quality medical fridges, cabinets and other appliances. They cater to many NHS hospitals, organisations and services and their products can be ordered online.

Milk Cooling Systems, Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Professional Installation, Maintenance & Repair