Times like these have been extremely challenging and accentuated the need for paramount healthcare conditions in the nation. In an age where the world is profusely dependent on vaccines, it’s essential to follow each and every protocol related to vaccines vigilantly. From excellent engineering to safe storage, every aspect must be abided meticulously. Being proficient in the field of cooling solutions, we demystify the need for purpose-built vaccine storage solutions, and how domestic refrigerators are incompetent in storing vaccines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have given delineated guidelines regarding vaccine storage. In an excerpt from those guidelines, the esteemed CDC advises, to not store any vaccine in a bar-style, dormitory-style, or combined refrigerator and freezer unit under any circumstances. They further mention that these units are made for domestic needs and contain only a single exterior door along with an evaporator plate or cooling coil, usually located in an ice-maker and freezer compartment. These units pose a considerable risk of freezing vaccines, even if being used for temporary storage further rendering the vaccines futile and ineffective. They further warn that the potency is curtailed every time a vaccine is exposed to improper conditions. Once lost, the potency cannot be revived.For most households, a refrigerator is reliable and does a satisfactory job at storing the food at a safe temperature, keeping them fresh. However, there are several characteristics that accentuate the difference between a purpose-built pharmaceutical refrigerator and a domestic refrigerator. Domestic refrigerators have myriad disadvantages pertaining to vaccine storage, such as:
– They are incapable of abiding by the 2-8°C temperature range which is required for optimal vaccine storage. A domestic refrigerator is built with temperature variance, ostensibly ranging from -15°C to 15°C. This can have serious repercussions in terms of storing vaccines as if the temperature ebbs to 0°C the vaccines can be frozen rendering them ineffective. This could further lead to patients being vaccinated with impotent vaccines that won’t protect them, or the medical fraternity being forced to dispose of expensive vaccines as they weren’t stored accurately.
– Ostensibly, only one shelf of a domestic refrigerator falls under the recommended temperature range of 2-8°C. Thus, it’s safe to assume that a domestic refrigerator is not even half-competent for vaccine storage.
– A meticulous analysis has shown that domestic refrigerator has wide temperature fluctuations and heating cycles that can further sabotage the vaccine.
– Temperature stability is sacrosanct when it comes to storing vaccines. However, domestic refrigerators are bereft of the feature to monitor and control temperature.
– Whereas, domestic refrigerators may seem to be an affordable choice. It is not, especially for storing vaccines as the entire domestic refrigerator cannot be used to store them.
Now that we have established domestic refrigerators fail at storing vaccines accurately. We delineate some of the features of a purpose-built medical-grade refrigerator, found in Elanpro medical refrigerators as well:
–Â Since a purpose-built pharmaceutical refrigerator is engineered for storing vaccines, you can use the entire space it has to offer to store vaccines. There is a lot more usable space for storing the vaccines as there is no need to stack low drawers and the doors with ice packs or gel packs and saltwater bottles recommended for domestic fridges.
– Temperatures are maintained between the recommended 2°C to 8°C range. This eliminates the risk of vaccines being stored outside the suggested temperature range and rendering impotent.
– Management of a vaccine refrigerator is easier than a domestic one.
– Comes with 100% operational excellence and 0 risks of wrong placement
–Â A vaccine refrigerator is integrated with an alarm system that notifies when minimum or maximum temperatures are breached, along with a temperature display
-Further, the digital temperature control aids compliance and ensures precise temperature with 1 Deg variance
-A large number of shelves ensure that more vaccines can be stored with proper SKU management.
-Most vaccine refrigerators are integrated with glass doors, allowing the users to locate the required items before opening the door. This feature facilitates temperature consistency and improves efficiency.
We at Elanpro engineer vaccine refrigerators punctiliously keeping the needs of the medical fraternity at par. Our refrigerators will not only have all the aforementioned features but also more which facilitate the objective. It is irrefutable that a purpose-built vaccine refrigerator is a must for medical needs which a domestic refrigerator cannot fulfill.
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