HEALTH officials are calling for urgent government action to tighten scrutiny on vaccine storage, which costs taxpayers more than $22 million per year in wastage and causes serious public health issues.
The calls follow an incident at a Sydney general practice last week, which identified more than 1,200 patients at risk of failed or ineffective vaccines administered due to improper storage between Dec 2019 and Jul 2024.
Among the patients involved were hundreds of children aged under five who received their first routine jabs against various diseases including polio, hepatitis, measles, pneumonia, whooping cough and more.
Another area of concern raised is around $22.3 million in taxpayer funds wasted by the government's National Immunisation Program Schedule due to improper storage via cold chain breaches.
Vaccines are required to be kept between 2C to 5C, according to World Health Organisation guidelines, to ensure no spoilage and maximum vaccine efficacy.
"It's terrifying to think that so many Australians - including our most vulnerable, like infants and the elderly - believe they are being protected by vaccines when they may not be safeguarded at all," said Terrence Daniel, General Manager of PSS Distributors, a company specialising in Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) technology.
"And with our economy under immense strain right now, it's disheartening to see over $22 million wasted each year on something as fundamental as proper vaccine storage."
PSS Distributors has partnered with medical refrigeration manufacturer Vacc-Safe to develop Australia's first vaccine refrigerator with a built-in battery backup. ML
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