Automated temperature monitoring systems for travel vaccines
Immunisation is crucial to global health security, preventing and controlling outbreaks of infectious disease. Vaccination - Our World in Data. The World Health Organisation (WHO) currently estimates that immunisation prevents between 3.5 million and 5 million worldwide deaths every year.
Global Initiatives in Public Health continually strive to create ‘herd immunity’ through mass vaccination programmes, aiming to protect communities around the world from communicable disease. The success of vaccination programmes is indisputable. Eradication of smallpox through mass vaccination campaigns is one of the most celebrated Public Health achievements of the 20th century. Significant scientific advancements within immunology have reduced a range of infectious diseases within the UK. Cases of diphtheria and tetanus are minimal, due to national vaccination programmes. No contracted cases of polio have been seen in the UK since the 1980s.
Vaccination requirements for Global Travellers from the UK
Disparities in global health and healthcare provision must be considered by UK travellers planning trips abroad. Current NHS advice recommends vaccination against numerous potentially fatal diseases to safeguard health when travelling internationally. Travel vaccination advice - NHS Vaccines that are part of the NHS vaccination programme are often available through NHS Primary Care Services. However, a whole host of immunisations recommended or required for travel to international destinations may need to be sourced and paid for through private travel health clinics and pharmacies offering travel healthcare services.
Extra precautions for foreign travel may involve complex programmes of vaccinations that require administering before travel over a course of weeks or months, to ensure adequate immunity has developed. Gap year travellers, international students, humanitarian and aid workers, pilgrims visiting religious mass gatherings and people travelling for work are some of the many groups of global travellers requiring specialist travel-health assessments and health advice. https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/factsheet/67/vaccines-and-medicines-availability-supply-shortages-and-use-of-unlicensed-medicines
For some travellers, declining the recommended vaccinations is not always an option. Yellow fever has been declared an infection for which many countries demand an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) proof of vaccination as a condition of entry.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issues strict visa and vaccination entry requirements for visitors to the annual Hajj and Umrah mass gatherings. With over two million international pilgrims, seasonal workers and visitors from around the globe, the risk of outbreaks of life-threatening infection is heightened. Entry requirements for proof of vaccination with a quadrivalent (ACWY) meningococcal vaccine, received more than ten days prior to arrival, is a non-negotiable stipulation by the Saudi Arabian authorities.
Are travel vaccinations expensive?
The cost of travel vaccines can vary significantly. A single destination trip to a city location may be more straightforward and less costly, however travel to multiple destinations or locations off the beaten track may require multiple vaccines for several disease types. To maintain patient safety during vaccine administration, as well as optimal immune response, a course of multiple vaccines should be administered over weeks and months prior to planned travel.
A traveller to multiple destinations in South America may typically require boosters of routine UK vaccines such as diphtheria, tetanus and polio. Courses of hepatitis A and B, alongside rabies vaccinations, may be indicated. Yellow fever vaccination and certificate may be an entry requirement. The oral cholera vaccine may be advised, as may typhoid and meningitis. With a course of rabies vaccinations costing over £200, it is easy to see how vaccination costs can amount to hundreds, if not thousands of pounds per traveller.
Optimal Storage for Travel Vaccines
With travel vaccines a huge expense for both independent travellers and employers sending workers abroad, it is fundamental that both travellers and vaccinators are confident that the immunisations are kept in optimum storage conditions.
Specialist travel clinics hold significant volumes of expensive stock. A fridge failure can be costly, resulting in damaged and unusable vaccines, and potentially the need to reschedule appointments for when new stock is available. Perhaps more importantly, the time available to vaccinate the traveller before they depart may also be compromised.
Many vaccinations require more than one shot; Japanese encephalitis for example, prevalent in parts of Asia, costs approximately £100 per dose and requires two doses, given 28 days apart. Disrupting and delaying any vaccination schedule prior to travel risks compromising the health of the traveller and the operation of the clinic.
Vaccine shortages also place increased value not only on the monetary aspect and practical inconvenience of damaged stock, but can also mean these immunisations are precious. Careful storage is crucial to ensure that global travellers are able to access the necessary vaccines to protect themselves and those around them.
How RemoteM can help
Wireless automated temperature monitoring and alerting systems have a vital role to play in safeguarding vaccines as well as providing valuable data in the event of a temperature outage. Manual checks on fridges can only give a snapshot of the temperature in the fridge at that given moment. Automated systems like RemoteM take readings every few minutes and give a detailed picture of fridge condition in perpetuity.
In addition, RemoteM provides alerts via email, SMS or automated voice call, advising immediately in the event of a temperature outage, enabling staff to move sensitive vaccines to other cold storage areas. This feature is particularly important for facilities not operational 24/7.
In the event of a fridge failure, RemoteM demonstrates exactly how long the fridge has been out of acceptable temperature range, enabling clinical staff to make evidence-based decisions on the safety and efficacy of the contents in line with the manufacturer’s summary of product characteristics.
Data can be viewed on a dashboard from almost any device anywhere and will show fluctuations in temperature and unusual fridge cycling patterns which can indicate operational issues, averting a crisis before it happens.
Meeting the specifications of the Green Book
The Green Book, which is the governing bible for nurses and other clinicians in the UK responsible for administering vaccinations, has very specific requirements on the storage of vaccines, which may lose their effectiveness if not kept within specified temperature limits.
The Green Book states:-
Vaccines should be stored according to the manufacturer’s summary of product characteristics (SPC) – usually at +2˚C to +8˚C. Temperatures in the refrigerator must be monitored and recorded at least once each working day and documented on a chart for recording temperatures. The records should be readily accessible, be retained for at least one year, and cover the full storage history of any products contained in the fridge.- Green Book, Chapter 3
An automated temperature monitoring system helps those responsible to ensure vaccines have been kept in prime condition, not just knowing but also being able to prove that vaccines are stored in the correct way.
Conclusion
Choosing a monitoring and alerting system like RemoteM can play a key role not just in safeguarding valuable vaccines but also reducing the workload of those responsible for administering them and guarding against expensive losses caused by fridge failure and power outages. Watch our How it Works video to find out more.