Attention VFC /DHSS Providers: New Center for Disease Control Requirements in 2015
Are you out of Compliance with the CDC regulations for your vaccine storage? Providers enrolled in the VFC/DHSS program are required to use calibrated thermometers in refrigerator and freezer compartments used for VFC vaccine storage, in order to monitor temperatures. Each device is to be covered by a certificate of traceability and calibration testing. Calibration testing of thermometers must be performed every 1 to 2 years from the last calibration testing date. The CDC requires a calibration testing and traceable cert preferably performed by a laboratory accredited by an ILAC MRA signatory body and meets ISO/IEC 17025 international standards. If you signed the provider enrollment agreement you are responsible to meet these guidelines to provide the public with a valid vaccine. In addition, the CDC is requiring all VFC providers to have at least one back-up, certified calibrated thermometer for the VFC storage starting January 1, 2015.