Immunisation is an important public health measure and ensuring that vaccines are stored correctly is paramount to the success of immunisation programmes in reducing disease. All vaccines are required to be stored between the +2˚C to +8˚C temperature range at all times (commonly referred to as the cold chain).
The National Standards for Vaccine Storage and Transportation for Immunisation Providers 2017, describes the standards and outlines the requirements for providers to achieve these standards. The integrity of the cold chain is dependent on three areas: the people who maintain and monitor the cold chain, the systems and process that are used and the equipment in which the vaccines are stored.
All immunisation providers are required to achieve Cold Chain Accreditation (or Cold Chain Compliance if applicable), which is an assessment tool used by an assessor to ensure that the providers’ cold chain management practices and process meet the required standards.
The second edition was published in 2019 and supersedes the National Guidelines for Vaccine Storage and Distribution 2017 (1st edition).
Publishing information
- Publication date
- Citation
- Ministry of Health. 2019. National Standards for Vaccine Storage and Transportation for Immunisation Providers (2nd edition). Wellington: Ministry of Health.
- ISBN
- 978-1-98-859710-2 (online)
- HP number
- 7226
- Copyright status
-
Owned by the Ministry of Health and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.