POST 00438E : VACCINE WASTAGE (STUDY)

POST 00438E : VACCINE WASTAGE (STUDY) Follow-up to Post 00413E 19 March 2002 _________________________________________________________________________________ Anthony Battersby has some questions and critical comments about the Vaccine Wastage Study that was posted earlier (POST 00413E of 18/01/2002). It's good to see that some read the scientific literature critically. I hope that Bruce Weniger who shared this article with us will respond to Anthony's question. _______________________________________________________________ One thing I am puzzled by with this study, I could find no mention of the size of presentation nor of the policy on opened vials. Are all the doses used in the US in single dose presentation? I guess some are in pre-filled presentation and maybe some places allow opened multi dose vials to be kept. Also where syringes are filled do they use regular syringes with detachable needles or do they use fixed needle ("low waste", basically the same as the AD without the locking device)? If the vaccine is in multi dose vials, has the overfilling by the manufacturer been taken into account (i.e. is the additional vaccine in a vial counted as free vaccine and ignored if it is discarded ? or is it carried over from one vial to the next e.g. half a dose left in a vial is combined with half a dose for the subsequent vial?) So what is the denominator? Actual dose in the vial or nominal dose in the vial. What was done to verify that the doses administered were the correct size? Under-dosing can show up as low wastage. All will affect wastage. We need to know this information to be able to judge the results. Anthony ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTRIBUTIONS Contributions to or use your reply button! The TechNet21 e-Forum welcomes new subscribers who are involved in immunization services. SUBCRIBE To subscribe, send an e-mail to Leave the SUBJECT area BLANK, do not type anything. In the body text, just write : Subscribe TECHNET21E Surname Name Do not use any accents in your name and surname. UNSUBSCRIBE To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to Leave the SUBJECT area BLANK, do not type anything. In the body text, just write : Unsubscribe TECHNET21E ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ARCHIVES New archives of posted messages starting with 1 November 2001 is accessible to all TechNet21 subscribers. To view the archives http://listes.ulaval.ca/listserv/archives/technet21e.html Archives for postings between 17 August 1998 and 31 October 2001 can be found at the following web site for download starting 1 December 2001. http//http://www.who.int/vaccines-access/Vaccines/Vaccine_Cold_Chain/Technet Archives for files (documents) are under revision to clean old documents and drafts that are already replaced with new ones, and will be made available soon at the same site. http//http://www.who.int/vaccines-access/Vaccines/Vaccine_Cold_Chain/Technet ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The World Health Organization and UNICEF support TechNet21. The TechNet21 e-Forum is a communication/information tool for generation of ideas on how to improve immunization services.