Week 9 COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Tip Sheet: 7-1-22: Transporting Vaccine in an Emergency Situation

Oakland County, Michigan sent this bulletin at 07/05/2022 01:26 PM EDT

This email is being sent to VFC, Non-VFC and Covid-19 Providers in Oakland County, Michigan by the Oakland County Health Division (OCHD) Immunization Action Plan (IAP)

mdhhs

Hello Fellow COVID-19 Vaccine Providers,

Please share with all staff that may have any contact with the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), Division of Immunization, is working to provide you, our COVID-19 providers, with information, education, and updates while working with the COVID-19 Vaccination Program. We are attempting to send weekly tip sheets on different subjects to help answer questions you may have. If you have other questions or concerns that we have not covered, please do not hesitate to contact us at checcimms@michigan.gov.  Below is our tip for week #9.

Week #9 Educational Tip:

Note: This guidance is for COVID-19 providers.  If you are both a VFC and COVID-19 provider, you must always follow the guidelines and requirements for VFC storage and handling.

Transporting Vaccine in an Emergency Situation:

Every provider should be prepared for emergency vaccine transport. CDC recommends developing and maintaining clearly written, detailed, and up-to-date storage and handling standard operating procedures (SOP) for Vaccine Management/Emergency Response Plans. Emergency Response Plans help ensure proper procedures are followed and problems are identified, reported, and corrected. These plans should provide direction for handling emergencies such as equipment malfunctions, power failures, or natural disasters. The plan should be reviewed/updated annually or more frequently if changes occur and should include a review date and signature to validate it is current.

1. Information that should be included in your Emergency Response Plan:

  • Contacts to be notified in an emergency (power outage, unit failure, etc.)
  • Backup location to transport vaccine (cannot be a home/residence)
    • Establish a working agreement with at least one alternative storage facility even if you have a generator as backup equipment
    • Ensure 24-hour access to this facility. Some options may include hospitals, pharmacies, other VFC providers, long-term care facilities, etc.
    • Alternative storage locations should be inspected prior to an emergency to validate that proper vaccine storage conditions can be maintained
  • A fillable worksheet to track vaccines transported or affected by temperature excursion
    • Vaccine manufacturer’s contact information for viability decisions
  • Keep your Emergency Response Plan posted in a prominent area (e.g., on the outside of the storage unit) and accessible to all staff. Ensure staff is trained on the plan and that the primary and backup are experts in implementation
  • MDHHS version: Vaccine_Management_and_Emergency_Response_Plan.pdf (michigan.gov)

Vaccine must be transported in accordance with vaccine product-specific requirements and general vaccine storage and handling guidance from CDC and the respective manufacturer. CDC recommends providers keep on hand or have ready access to the supplies needed for emergency transport. Improper packing is as risky for vaccines as a failed storage unit.

2. Appropriate materials for transport include:

  • Portable Vaccine Refrigerator, Freezer, or Ultra-cold Freezer (preferred option, but not required for COVID providers)
  • Qualified Container and Packout (Cool Cube, TempArmour, etc.) with qualified materials such as inserts for vaccine coolers
  • Hard-sided cooler/container or Styrofoam
    • Conditioned Water Bottle Transport System (for emergency use only):
      • Put frozen water bottles in sink filled with several inches of cool or lukewarm water or under running tap water until you see a layer of water forming near surface of bottle.
      • The bottle is properly conditioned if ice block inside spins freely when rotated in your hand.
      • If ice “sticks,” put bottle back in water for another minute.
      • Dry each bottle.
      • Line the bottom and top of cooler with a single layer of conditioned water bottles.
      • Do NOT reuse coolant packs from original vaccine shipping container as they may freeze, or damage refrigerated vaccines.
  • Insulating materials: bubble wrap and cardboard
  • Manufacturer’s Original Shipping Container (last resort only)
    • The original shipping container for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (purple cap only) can be used for routine or emergency transport of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
  • A print-out of the CDC Packing for Emergency Transport (put into coolers with this plan)
  • Printed copies of Vaccine Temperature Logs
  • MAY NOT USE FOOD/BEVERAGE COOLERS OR DRY ICE

3. Please see the following resources for product specific transport requirements. 

4. When transporting the vaccine, it is required to have a back-up Digital Data Logger (DDL):

  • The DDL must have a current calibration certificate
  • Ensure the back-up can be setup during an emergency (i.e., power outage). Probes must be kept in refrigerator or freezer to be pre-conditioned. If there is only one back-up, store in refrigerator
  • Temperatures should be recorded at start and end of transport (hourly if longer than 1 hour)
  • If an excursion occurs due to improper packing, manufacturers are contacted for stability

5. If any excursion occurs during transport or at the alternative storage facility:

Image Sources for Transport:

The use of images in this document is for educational purposes only and does not imply endorsement. MDHHS does not endorse certain products, brands, manufacturers, etc.

Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns at checcimms@michigan.gov.

Thank-you for helping to keep Michiganders safe from the COVID-19 virus,Oakland County Health Division, Immunization Action Plan