THE Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has released the fourth edition of the National Vaccine Storage Guidelines 'Strive for 5', featuring updates around cold chain management relating to community pharmacies.
For vaccines purchased in pharmacies, the Guidelines state: "All immunisation service providers who provide a prescription to their patient for the purchase of vaccine/s must advise the client that vaccine/s must be taken directly to their administering healthcare professional for administration or refrigerated storage."
In some cases the pharmacist may be able to administer the vaccine, but if not, it should remain in the pharmacy refrigerator until the patient can return to the administering health professional - patients should not store vaccines in their home.
It also clarifies that alfoil bags are not effective in maintaining cold chain.
See the updated guide HERE.
Meanwhile, an updated version of the Immunisation Handbook mobile app has been released, providing enhancements to search and browsing performance, bug fixes and improved analytics for ongoing optimisation.
It is available from the App Store or Google Play.
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