Providers enrolled in the VFC/DHSS program are required to use calibrated thermometers in refrigerator and freezer compartments used for VFC vaccine storage, in order to monitor temperatures. The CDC requires a calibration testing and traceable cert preferably performed by a laboratory accredited by an ILAC MRA signatory body and meets ISO/IEC 17025 international standards.

St. Louis, MO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/14/2015 -- Are you out of Compliance with the CDC regulations for your vaccine storage?

Providers enrolled in the VFC/DHSS program are required to use calibrated thermometers in refrigerator and freezer compartments used for VFC vaccine storage, in order to monitor temperatures. Each device is to be covered by a certificate of traceability and calibration testing. Calibration testing of thermometers must be performed every 1 to 2 years from the last calibration testing date. The CDC requires a calibration testing and traceable cert preferably performed by a laboratory accredited by an ILAC MRA signatory body and meets ISO/IEC 17025 international standards. If you signed the provider enrollment agreement you are responsible to meet these guidelines to provide the public with a valid vaccine. In addition, the CDC is requiring all VFC providers to have at least one back-up, certified calibrated thermometer for the VFC storage starting January 1, 2015.

TIC-MS, Inc., meets and exceeds these requirements!

Due to the outbreak of Ebola virus our medical providers are in immediate need to meet the new CDC criteria placed upon them; TIC-MS, INC., has implemented a thermometer/data logger protocol and procedure that meets the CDC checklist and guidelines. This calibration procedure is designed especially for our VFC/HDSS providers.

Using accurate, calibrated thermometers is crucial for proper vaccine management and to:
- Monitor that your vaccines are stored within the appropriate temperature ranges
- Ensure that the vaccines are effective when they are administered to patients
- Prevent the unnecessary loss of expensive vaccines
- Vaccines exposed to temperatures outside the appropriate ranges have to be reported

These new 2015 requirements are implemented in various states throughout the United States including:
Missouri, Oregon, Colorado, Louisiana, Georgia, Michigan, North Dakota, Washington

What device to use & why:
Data loggers are the most reliable thermometers for monitoring vaccine temperatures, as they measure and record temperatures every minute. Many vaccine providers found that their storage units were incapable of maintaining temperatures required for vaccine storage. Many providers have found after using the properly calibrated data logger that temperatures were out of range and have had to waste vaccines and had to revaccinate patients.

Thermometers NOT approved by the CDC are:
- Non-calibrated temperature monitoring devices
- Fluid-filled biosafe liquid temperature monitoring devices
- Bi-metal stem temperature monitoring devices
- Food temperature monitoring devices
- Household mercury temperature monitoring devices
- Chart recorders
- Infrared temperature monitoring devices

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