Vaccines are one of the greatest known inventions in history. Through the magic of vaccines, scientists have completely eradicated smallpox. The global eradication of polio and malaria are already underway, and diseases like measles, rubella and syphilis aren’t too far behind. Vaccines are one of humankind’s most valuable resources, and that’s why an undercounter medical refrigerator is essential for every lab around the world. What does one have to do with the other? More than most people might think.
Saving Lives
According to the WHO, the World Health Organization, more than 17 million lives have been saved by the measles vaccine since 2000 alone. An estimated 2.5 million deaths are avoided every single year thanks to different vaccines. The life-saving power of vaccines is truly astounding, and that’s why the proper handling and storage of vaccines is just as important as the vaccines themselves.
An undercounter medical refrigerator plays a huge role in the life cycle of vaccines. In many ways, millions of people owe their lives to refrigerators in labs, pharmacies and medical facilities all over the world.
How the Laboratory Refrigerator is Saving the World
It is absolutely vital that vaccines be stored properly. Without proper storage, vaccines can be rendered completely worthless. Considering that vaccines can potentially save millions of lives, this is a pretty big deal. A vaccine must maintain high quality from the moment it is manufactured to the moment it is administered, and the best way to ensure its safety is with a laboratory refrigerator.
A proper lab freezer or medical grade refrigerator is the most effective way to store vaccines, so they can be kept safe and fully viable until they’re needed. A standard undercounter medical refrigerator shouldn’t be used for additional specimens or samples along with vaccines. All vaccines should be kept in dedicated cold storage units. The reason why is simple: the vaccine cold chain.
The Vaccine Cold Chain
The vaccine cold chain is the cool environment where vaccines are stored for their entire life cycle. This chain begins at the manufacturing plant where vaccines are created. The chain must remain unbroken when vaccines are in transit to medical facilities, and it must be continued and maintained when vaccines arrive at facilities. The cold chain doesn’t end until the vaccine is administered to the patient. If even one link in the cold chain is broken, the vaccine is no longer viable. That means it can no longer be used to save lives.
Vaccine Storage
Handling vaccines is a huge responsibility, and that’s why it’s so essential to have a stand alone freezer for vaccines. This includes pharmacy freezers, laboratory refrigerators and medical refrigerators of all types. Every type of facility that receives or handles vaccines must have a proper lab freezer or a similar refrigeration unit to safety store vaccines and maintain that cold chain.
A separate vaccine freezer unit and a standalone vaccine refrigerator until allows facilities to property store both frozen and refrigerated vaccines. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, says that frozen vaccines should be stored at temperatures between -58 and 5 degrees F. Refrigerated vaccines must be stored at 40 degrees F exactly.
Vaccines should be stored at the ideal temperature in order for them to maintain their effectiveness. An undercounter medical refrigerator or freezer that’s dedicated to vaccines is the best way to ensure proper storage, so these life-saving formulas can be kept safe and effective for all who need them. You might say that without refrigerators, vaccines wouldn’t even exist.