Thank you to our hosts and participants for joining last week’s webinar: COVID-19: One Year Later: Vaccine Progress and New Standards for Vaccine Storage. Dr. L.J. Tan from the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) and Helmer Scientific’s Dennis Smith, Vice President of Research and Development, discussed the current state of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, how to tackle vaccine hesitancy, the importance of routine vaccines, and emerging standards for safeguarding vaccine product.
To date, the U.S. has conducted over 232.4 million vaccinations, with over half of U.S. adults receiving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. With supply beginning to outpace demand, vaccination efforts are shifting from mass vaccination clinics to private and primary healthcare providers. The next phase of the COVID-19 rollout will look to tackle vaccine hesitancy with a new Vaccinate with Confidence national campaign from the CDC. The goal is to reinforce trust, empower healthcare providers, and engage community and individuals to increase collaboration and built trust in the COVID-19 vaccine.
Healthcare providers, including primary care and pediatric physicians, remain the most trusted messenger in vaccination efforts. It is expected that COVID-19 vaccines will shift to these sites, and children and adolescents under the age of 16 can expect to be offered the COVID-19 vaccine at either their doctor’s office or at a retail pharmacy.
The COVID-19 rollout is expected to continue throughout 2021, and many facilities should prepare for storing COVID-19 in additional to the flu and other routine vaccines this fall. Vaccine storage plays an important role in safeguarding vaccines and vaccine confidence. Choosing a reliable, medical-grade vaccine storage unit can help you prevent costly temperature excursions, which can also hurt public confidence. Facilities should ensure they use a medical-grade unit that meets the CDC’s guidelines for vaccine storage and handling, including the Vaccine for Children program requirements. Additionally, new standards for vaccine storage from the NSF joint committee on vaccine storage are expected to be finalized this year. The NSF storage standards will enable providers to better understand the performance of their vaccine storage units and ensure vaccine product is stored at appropriate temperatures.
OTHER BLOGS YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN...
- Medical-grade vaccine storage can help prevent vaccine and financial loss
- Meet CDC Guidelines for Vaccine Storage with Helmer’s i.C3® Information Center
- Emerging Standards for Vaccine Storage in 2021
- Rising to the challenge to support COVID-19 vaccine cold storage
To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and emerging standards for vaccine storage, listen to the recorded webinar.
