Latest updates
Victoria has updated the Cold Chain management policy.
- Immunisation providers must report all cold chain breaches for government funded vaccines
- Use the new Cold chain breach report form to report vaccine cold chain breaches.
Key messages
- The Department of Health Immunisation Unit will advise you on the steps to take after a cold chain breach.
- Contact Onelink to report vaccine delivery cold chain breaches
- For all COVID-19 vaccine cold chain breach information and action, see the COVID-19 Cold Chain Breach (CCB) reporting form.
Immunisation providers should follow the principles of safe vaccine storage management to ensure that clients receive effective and potent vaccines. The principles are contained in the National Vaccine Storage Guidelines - Strive for 5.
Cold chain is the system of transporting or storing vaccine within the safe temperature range of +2°C to +8°C (strive for +5°C – the midway point).
A cold chain breach is
- exposure of vaccines to temperatures outside the recommended range of +2°C to +8°C, excluding fluctuations up to +12°C lasting no longer than 15 minutes when restocking, cleaning the fridge or stock taking
- exposure to light as vaccine has been removed from the packet and the glass fridge door allows light to penetrate.
Cold chain breach reporting – standard procedure
- Complete the Cold chain Breach (CCB) report form when vaccines have been
- Exposed to temperatures greater than +8°C (greater than 15 minutes)
- Exposed to temperatures less than +2˚C
- Exposed to light (if removed from packaging and exposed to direct sunlight or ultraviolet (UV) light, including fluorescent light).
- Determine length and extent of breach
- Download the data logger to assess the duration of the breach and the extent of temperatures reached.
- Assess affected government funded vaccines
- Count the number of doses of each vaccine exposed in this breach
- Review your practice records to identify any vaccines exposed to a previous breach.
- Complete the CCB report form and email to the department
- Complete a separate report for each vaccine refrigerator affected
- Attach all required documents (refer to form)
- Email the form and attachments to immunisation@health.vic.gov.au.
Cold chain breach report form
docx 160.03 KB
Follow these steps for all CCBs
- Isolate the vaccines and place a sign on the vaccine refrigerator 'Do not use or discard vaccines until further notice'.
- Download and complete the Cold chain breach report form as soon as possible, complete and email to the department
- Continue to store vaccines between +2°C to +8°C. The vaccines may need to be transferred to an alternate purpose built vaccine refrigerator or cooler if available.
- Await advice from the Department of Health Immunisation Unit about what to do with each vaccine.
- Determine the cause of the breach and, where possible, address this to reduce the risk of the event recurring.
Reviewed 05 April 2024
Health.vic
-
- Hospitals & health services
- Public hospitals in Victoria
-
- Quality, safety and service improvement
- Planned surgery recovery and reform program
- My Health Record
- Public hospital accreditation in Victoria
- Credentialing for senior medical staff in Victoria
- Clinical risk management
- Preventing infections in health services
- Healthy choices
- Victorian Perinatal Data Collection
-
- Rural health
- Improving Access to Primary Care in Rural and Remote Areas Initiative
- Rural x-ray services
- Rural health regions and locations
- Rural and regional medical director role
- Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme
- Rural and isolated practice registered nurses
- Urgent care in regional and rural Victoria
-
- Private health service establishments
- Private hospitals
- Day procedure centres
- Mobile health services
- Fees for private health service establishments in Victoria
- Design resources for private health service establishments
- Professional standards in private health service establishments
- Legislation updates for private health service establishments
- Complaints about private health service establishments
- Cosmetic procedures
- Guideline for providers of liposuction
- Private hospital funding agreement
-
- Primary & community health
- Local Public Health Units
- Integrated care
-
- Maternal and Child Health Service
- Nursery Equipment Program
- Maternal and Child Health Service Framework
- Maternal and Child Health Service resources
- Child Development Information System
- Early parenting centres
- Maternal Child and Health Reporting, Funding and Data
- Baby bundle
- Sleep and settling
- Maternal and Child Health Workforce professional development
- Aboriginal Maternal and Child Health
- Public Dental and Community Health Program funding model review
-
- Public health
-
- Cemeteries and crematoria
- Cemetery trust member appointments
- Cemetery search
- Cemeteries and crematoria complaints
- Cremations
- Exhumations
- Governance and finance
- Cemetery grants
- Interments and memorials
- Land and development
- Legislation governing Victorian cemeteries and crematoria
- Cemeteries and crematoria publications
- Repatriations
- Rights of interment
-
- Medicines and Poisons Regulation
- Patient Schedule 8 treatment permits
- Schedule 8 MDMA and Schedule 8 psilocybine
- Schedule 9 permits for clinical trials
- Documents and forms to print or download
- Legislation and Approvals
- Frequently Asked Questions - Medicines and Poisons Regulation
- Health practitioners
- Licences and permits to possess (& possibly supply) scheduled substances
- Medicinal cannabis
- Pharmacotherapy (opioid replacement therapy)
- Recent updates
- SafeScript
-
- Environmental health
- Improving childhood asthma management in Melbourne's inner west
- Climate and weather, and public health
- Environmental health in the community
- Environmental health in the home
- Environmental health professionals
- Face masks for environmental hazards
- Human health risk assessments
- Lead and human health
- Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
- Pesticide use and pest control
-
- Immunisation
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation
- Seasonal influenza vaccine
- Immunisation schedule and vaccine eligibility criteria
- Ordering vaccine
- Immunisers in Victoria
- Immunisation provider information
- Cold chain management
- Adverse events following immunisation reporting
- Vaccine error management
- Vaccination for infants and children
- Vaccination for adolescents
- Vaccination program for adults
- Vaccination for special-risk groups
- Immunisation resources order form
- Victorian coverage rates for Victoria
-
- Infectious diseases guidelines & advice
- Infection control guidelines
- Disease information and advice
- Advice to the cruise industry: reporting infections
- Notifiable infectious diseases, conditions and micro-organisms
- Notification procedures for infectious diseases
- Infectious diseases surveillance in Victoria
- Germicidal ultraviolet light
- Protecting patient privacy in Victoria
-
- Tobacco reforms
- Tobacco reform legislation and regulations
- E-cigarettes and vaping
- Quitting smoking and vaping
- Tobacco and e-cigarette retailers
- Making a report or complaint
- Resources and factsheets
-
- Mental health
-
- About Victoria's mental health services
- Area-based services
- Statewide and specialist mental health services
- Mental Health Community Support Services
- Support and intervention services
- Language services - when to use them
- Access to mental health services across areas
- Transport for people in mental health services
-
- Alcohol & drugs
-
- Alcohol and other drug treatment services
- Overview of Victoria's alcohol and drug treatment system
- Pathways into alcohol and other drugs treatment
- Prevention and harm reduction
- Medically supervised injecting room
- Victoria's Take-Home Naloxone Program
- Community-based AOD treatment services in Victoria
- Drug rehabilitation plan
- Hospital-based services
- Forensic services
- Pharmacotherapy treatment
- Services for Aboriginal people
- Services for young people
- Statewide and specialist services
- Compulsory treatment
- Family and peer support
-
- Alcohol and other drug service standards and guidelines
- Alcohol and other drug client charter and resources
- Alcohol and other drug treatment principles
- Service quality and accreditation
- Alcohol and other drug program guidelines
- Maintenance pharmacotherapy
- Drink and Drug Driving Behaviour Change Program
- Alcohol and Other Drug Residential Rehabilitation Facility Design Guidelines
- Specialist Family Violence Advisor capacity building program in mental health and alcohol and other drug services - Victoria
-
- Drug alerts
- 25C-NBOMe and 4-FA sold as '2C-B'
- Novel stimulants sold as MDMA, cocaine or speed
- Protonitazene sold as ketamine
- High potency benzodiazepine tablets
- MDMA adulterated with PMMA
- 25B-NBOH sold as powdered 'LSD'
- Green 'UPS' pills containing N-ethylpentylone (no MDMA)
- N-ethylpentylone in cocaine
-
- Ageing & aged care
- My Aged Care assessment services
-
- Dementia-friendly environments
- Designing for people with dementia
- Maintaining personal identity
- Personal enjoyment
- Interior design
- Dining areas, kitchens and eating
- Bedrooms and privacy
- Bathrooms
- Gardens and outdoor spaces
- Assistive technology
- Staff education and support
- Strategies, checklists and tools
- References
-
- About us
- Our Strategic Plan 2023-27
- Our ministers
-
- Health workforce
- Working in health
- Information sharing and MARAM
- Victorian Public Healthcare Awards
- Aboriginal healthcare workers
- Allied health workforce
- Education and training
- Enterprise agreements
- Worker health and wellbeing
- Our campaigns
In this topic
Contact us
Opening hours: 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday
Immunisation Unit Department of Health