The recommended method to ensure that a refrigerator or freezer is maintaining the proper temperature for vaccine storage is to check and record the temperature at least twice a day. This recommendation applies regardless of whether or not there is a temperature alarm, a chart recorder thermometer, or a digital data logger.

Check and record temperatures at least twice a day.

Do not faithfully record the temperatures on the log and then fail to take action when the temperature in either the refrigerator or freezer is outside the recommended range for vaccine storage. Immediate action must be taken to protect the vaccines. Furthermore, this action should be documented (see Handling Inappropriate Vaccine Storage Conditions [Light and Temperature] in the Storage Troubleshooting section for details).

If other staff are monitoring and recording the temperatures, the primary vaccine coordinator should review the log weekly to ensure proper temperature recording. If the vaccine coordinator is the person monitoring and recording the temperatures, the backup vaccine coordinator should review the log weekly.

The date and time of any mechanical malfunction or power outage should be recorded. This information may be recorded on the temperature log or on some other document, for example the Emergency Response Worksheet in the Resources section. As with inappropriate storage temperatures, immediate action must be taken to correct these situations. See Handling Malfunctioning Vaccine Storage Units and Power Outages in the Storage Troubleshooting section for further details.

Back: Vaccine Storage Troubleshooting Record.

If a mechanical malfunction or power outage has occurred, the room temperature where the vaccine storage unit is kept should also be recorded. If the cold chain is broken, the room temperature is useful information that will help the vaccine coordinator, the health department officials, and/or the vaccine manufacturer decide how best to handle compromised vaccine. Have a thermometer in the room for measuring the room temperature—a standard household thermometer (the sort you find in a hardware store) is fine for this purpose. Do not remove the certified calibrated thermometer from the refrigerator or freezer to measure the room temperature. Do not rely on the room thermostat setting.

Maintain an ongoing file of temperature logs and store completed logs for 3 years (unless state statutes or rules require a longer period). Do not throw away temperature logs before 3 years. As the vaccine storage unit ages, you can track recurring problems or identify how long problems have existed by referring to old temperature logs. If a continuous recording/graphic thermometer is used, the graphs should be kept with the logs for 3 years.

Facilities storing large vaccine inventories may want to consider installing continuous monitoring temperature alarm systems to help prevent substantial financial loss if the temperatures in their storage units exceed the recommended ranges or if the storage units malfunction. See Temperature Alarms in the Vaccine Storage Equipment section for more details. If alarm systems are used, temperatures must still be checked and recorded twice a day.