This is the first and most vital step in a facility's vaccine inventory management system. As such, facility staff must be educated on how crucial this step is to the facility's ability to provide vaccines for patients, and this education should cover the following:
You will need a stock record to account for and document your vaccine inventory. Stock records help determine the type and amount of vaccine your facility should stock to meet patient needs. They also help you keep track of your inventory. You can keep stock records in either paper or electronic forms, and they should be updated weekly to include information such as:
At least once a month, and before placing any vaccine order, count all vaccine and diluent doses and ensure that the number of doses in storage matches the documented doses in the stock record. Furthermore, always check expiration dates while counting vaccine stock and remove any expired doses immediately.
This is crucial as unique vaccine delivery methods and technologies like:
Additionally, you may want to use tally sheets to keep your stock records up to date. Including any additional doses or booster doses received.
You can place the tally sheets outside the storage unit door, or any other easily accessible location and have staff use tick marks to record every dose removed from the unit.
When ordering vaccines, it is best to order and stock only enough to meet patient needs because storing vaccines in surplus of your facility needs can expose you to the risk of waste and losses for the cost of goods sold. However, any existing supply chain restraints may make over ordering slightly a smart move.
In addition, the vaccines may expire before they can be used or compromised in some way. Thus, it is best to make fresh orders after checking your stock count.
However, note that while vaccine orders typically arrive within one or two weeks, there can be delays. Thus, it is best to factor that in when ordering your vaccines and avoid placing last-minute or rush orders. The CDC recommends reordering vaccine stock when you are down to about four weeks' worth of inventory.
Your facility's vaccine coordinator or any other designated staff should rotate vaccine and diluent stock at least once weekly, and every time you receive a fresh vaccine delivery. Arrange the stock for each vaccine type so that doses with the earliest expiration dates come before those with later dates. This will ensure that you use up vaccines that are expiring sooner first. Also, ensure that expired vaccines are removed immediately after they are discovered to avoid accidently providing them to patients.
There are different reasons why you may want to dispose of your vaccines. Below we’ll briefly guide you in disposing of vaccines for common scenarios.
You will need to contact your immunization program or vaccine manufacturer for specific information.
However, you may sometimes be able to return unused vaccine and diluent doses, unopened vials, expired vials, and potentially compromised vaccines for credit, even if they must be discarded.
As they cannot be returned, you’ll generally need to discard them per your state requirements.
Most empty vaccine vials are not considered hazardous or pharmaceutical waste and do not require disposal in a medical waste container. However, you should check and comply with your state's requirements for disposal.
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