Some vaccines have to be maintained in a cold state, from the time of manufacture to administration, so that they do not lose their potency. When vaccination is done on a mass scale, it is not practical to keep the vaccine in a refrigerator and take it out for every person who is to be administered the vaccine. So they have an ice pack, which is made of a polymer like plastic, and has a coolant fluid inside it. It is to kept inside a refrigerator for cooling. Then it is used in place of ice to keep the vaccine cold during transportation or when it is kept on a table during mass vaccinations. It has a socket to contain the vaccine bottle.
That day I was taking round of the postnatal ward. On my way out after the round, I found a couple of pediatrics resident doctors sitting at the table, waiting for mothers to bring their babies for oral polio vaccination. The vaccine was kept on the top of an ice gel pack as shown below.
I was somewhat surprised at the arrangement. So I stopped and asked the doctor, "is the area of contact between the bottom of the vaccine bottle and the ice pack enough to keep the vaccine cool?"
She looked at it, thought for a couple of seconds, lifted the vaccine bottle, inverted the ice pack so that its sockets faced up, and placed the vaccine bottle in one of the sockets. Now the vaccine was totally surrounded by the cold coolant. It looked like this.
"That is nice" I said. "Sorry to have bothered you."
I wonder if she caught my sarcasm, and if she did, if it did any good. I wonder how many babies had been administered not cooled vaccine by her and by others like her all over the country. I made a note of the event, planning to talk to the pediatrics professor after the round to advise his resident doctors on this issue.
That day I was taking round of the postnatal ward. On my way out after the round, I found a couple of pediatrics resident doctors sitting at the table, waiting for mothers to bring their babies for oral polio vaccination. The vaccine was kept on the top of an ice gel pack as shown below.
I was somewhat surprised at the arrangement. So I stopped and asked the doctor, "is the area of contact between the bottom of the vaccine bottle and the ice pack enough to keep the vaccine cool?"
She looked at it, thought for a couple of seconds, lifted the vaccine bottle, inverted the ice pack so that its sockets faced up, and placed the vaccine bottle in one of the sockets. Now the vaccine was totally surrounded by the cold coolant. It looked like this.
"That is nice" I said. "Sorry to have bothered you."
I wonder if she caught my sarcasm, and if she did, if it did any good. I wonder how many babies had been administered not cooled vaccine by her and by others like her all over the country. I made a note of the event, planning to talk to the pediatrics professor after the round to advise his resident doctors on this issue.
