Important Vaccine Information

• Vaccine Ordering & Receiving
• Vaccine Storage & Handling
• Accounting for Vaccine in Immunization Clinics
• Adverse Events Reporting Systems

Vaccine Ordering & Receiving

To have vaccine available when needed, facilities must maintain adequate vaccine inventory. It is important to inventory current stock monthly and rotate to ensure vaccines with the shortest expiration dates are used first. The recommended amount of vaccine inventory is a two-to-three month supply and vaccine orders should be placed when the vaccine supply is at a one-month level.

• Vaccine Requisition Inventory Form (DHHS 1227)
• Instructions for Ordering Vaccines

The best way to submit an order is to call the Customer Service Staff at 1-877-873-6247.

General Guidelines About Ordering and Receiving Vaccine

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Vaccine Storage & Handling

Controlling the spread of infectious diseases through immunization is one of medicine's most significant accomplishments. Vaccination is a cost-effective means of disease prevention that has already prevented millions from death and suffering caused by the many diseases that afflict humankind. Yet, with all our country's medical advancements and high technology, a mundane issue such as improper handling of vaccines play a significant role in the spread and anguish of preventable diseases. We must ensure that everyone is immunized with a vaccine whose potency is intact. Vaccine efficacy depends on vaccine quality control in the doctor's office. Only viable vaccine will protect your patients, and improper storage can cause vaccine to lose potency.

All personnel responsible for handling vaccines should be familiar with standard procedures designed to minimize the risk of vaccine failure. Although guidelines have been widely publicized, compliance in actual practice remains less than optimal. We tend to think of difficulty in maintaining the cold chain as a problem of developing nations; however, research has shown this is a concern in industrialized countries as well. There are three basic elements needed to assure that vaccines are handled properly: the right equipment, well-trained people and standard operating procedures.

To give your staff the basics, it is important that all staff read and understand the Storage and Handling Vaccine Guide. After reviewing the manual, staff should understand the implications of vaccine handling mistakes, be more familiar with the general vaccine storage rules, and take initiative to institute needed changes in routine office procedures to ensure vaccines do not loose their efficacy through mishandling or costly accidents.

• Storage and Handling Vaccine Guide
• Minimum Vaccine Ordering, Handling and Storage Procedures (Post in clinic)
• UCVDP Vaccine Disaster Recovery Plan (Post in clinic)
• Refrigerated Vaccines Temperature Storage Log (Post in clinic)
• Frozen Vaccine Temperature Storage Log (Post in clinic)
• Refrigerator Warning Card (Post in clinic)
• Check Your Vials (Td, Tdap or DTaP) flyer
• CDC's Vaccine Management: Recommendations for Storage and Handling of Selected Biologicals
• CDC's Recommendations for Transporting Vaccine to Off-Site Clinics

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Accounting for Vaccine in Immunization Clinics

One of the most important steps you can take is to account for all vaccine received by your facility. This is called Vaccine Accountability. If your facility receives 100 doses of vaccine you should be able to account for all 100 doses. Disposal of any of these vaccines without proper documentation to the Immunization Branch will cause your facility to be unaccountable for vaccine. It is easy not to account for vaccine. A dropped vial, an unreported transfer, or a dose administered but not reported can all lead to poor accountability. The most important thing to remember is every dose must be counted in some format. In addition, transfers to and from other facilities must be documented and the Immunization Branch must be notified of the transfers to update the records.

• Financial Restitution Policy
• Wasted/Expired Vaccine Report (DHHS 3974)
• Vaccine Administration Log [VAL 120]
• Vaccine Transfer Form

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Adverse Events Reporting Systems

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System is a cooperative program for vaccine safety of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). VAERS is a post-marketing safety surveillance program, collecting information about adverse events (possible side effects) that occur after the administration of US licensed vaccines.

VAERS collects and analyzes information from reports of adverse events following immunization. Since 1990, VAERS has received over 123,000 reports, most of which describe mild side effects such as fever. Very rarely, people experience serious adverse events following immunization. By monitoring such events, VAERS helps to identify any important new safety concerns and thereby assists in ensuring that the benefits of vaccines continue to be far greater than the risks.

Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System

Note: All documents (pdf files) on this page also can be found on the Forms for Providers page.

NOTE: Some files are in pdf format. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download a copy, using this graphic.