Vaccine Vial Monitor Based Vaccine Management: An Albania Experience

Umit Kartoglu,Erida Nelaj,Silva Bino,Iria Preza

doi:10.35248/2376-0419.20.7.207

Abstract

Vaccine vial monitor (VVM) stands out amongst all the temperature monitoring devices and tools, as the only one that has shaped the course of vaccine management practices as well as the vaccine cold chain. Some critical vaccine management approaches that are practiced today, such as multi-dose vial policy, and controlled temperature chain have only been made possible with the help of VVM, and others such as rotating stocks and dispatches have been made more effective. Using the Albania immunization programme as a case, this paper reviews the vaccine management practices from the VVM perspective.

Highlights

Vaccines are biological medicinal products that are time and temperature-sensitive and must be stored and transported at controlled temperatures [1,2]
Vaccine vial monitor (VVM) stands out amongst all the temperature monitoring devices and tools, as the only one that has shaped the course of vaccine management practices as well as the vaccine cold chain
In addition to warning health workers for making informed decisions on whether to use the vaccine, VVM facilitated the formulation of certain vaccine management policies, such as multi-dose vial policy (MDVP) and Controlled Temperature Chain (CTC)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Vaccines are biological medicinal products that are time and temperature-sensitive and must be stored and transported at controlled temperatures [1,2]. To warrant the quality of vaccines, manufacturers should meet the norms of international standards as well as their equivalence across manufacturers. Consideration of this development, approval, and manufacturing process is not enough for ensuring quality throughout the lifecycle of a product, because vaccines spend substantial amount of time in countries at storage facilities, as well as in transport between warehouses, at hospitals, pharmacies, health centres and even within the houses of end-users. Some critical approaches we have today in vaccine management, such as multi-dose vial policy, controlled temperature chain have only been made possible with the help of VVM, and others such as rotating stocks and dispatches have been made more effective [5,6]. This paper is prepared as a review of vaccine management practices from the VVM perspective, illustrating it with VVM based vaccine management practices in Albania immunization programme as a case study

LITERATURE REVIEW

Findings

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION