• Storage & Handling
  • Troubleshooting & Follow-Up

We use a digital data logger and are carefully logging our vaccine storage unit’s temperatures each day. Is there anything else that could go wrong?

Congratulations on your hard work! You would be surprised at the number of people who, just like you, do a careful job of recording temperatures, but then they fail to act on them when the temperatures go out of range. Always take immediate action when you notice an out-of-range temperature. You may need to move the vaccines temporarily to a more reliable storage unit and determine the source of the problem. It may be something quite fixable (e.g., excessive lint or dust on the coils), and you will be back in business after you determine that the temperature is back in range after a few hours.

Above all, don’t chart an out-of-range temperature and not act on it! Immunize.org has created temperature recording logs and a troubleshooting record to document unacceptable vaccine storage events. The CDC Storage and Handling Toolkit contains detailed guidance on the management of a temperature excursion. See pages 15–17 at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/admin/storage/toolkit/storage-handling-toolkit.pdf. Refer to the addendum to the toolkit for specific guidance on COVID-19 and mpox vaccines.

Last reviewed: July 26, 2023

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