I recently took my Florida Immunization CE Course that is required every license renewal period to give vaccines in the Sunshine State.
While the course was overall very well done, it unfortunately listed an incorrect refrigerator temperature range that has persisted years after the CDC changed it.
According to the CDC Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit, the correct medical refrigerator temperature range is 36-46 Fahrenheit.
But this course listed 35-46F. It’s not to pick on this course either – many pharmacies to this day have old temperature logs listing 35-46F as the correct range.
Why the difference?
Previous editions of the CDC Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit did in fact list 35F. It all comes down to rounding.
The correct temperature range, in Celsius, is 2-8 degrees. 2 Degrees Celsius = 35.6 Fahrenheit. In the past, the number was rounded down. But this actually means that, if your refrigerator at 35F, it’s actually out of range and should be treated as a temperature excursion.
To ensure medical refrigerators stayed within 2-8C, the bottom end of the range was changed from 35 to 36F.
Read more from the CDC on this change here.
One other huge benefit of understanding this fact: If your refrigerator temperature dips slightly below 36, but still above 35.6, it can be treated as within range.
Get updated temperature logs for free through the links in the Free Forms section.
I am a pharmacist, community pharmacy consultant, and medical writer with over 12 years of clinical practice experience in community, outpatient health system, long term care, and academic settings. I am also the founder of PharmCompliance.com, a website dedicated to the success of community pharmacy.
As a pharmacy project manager, I led the implementation of new service lines, assist with ensuring legal and third-party compliance for over 70 retail stores, lead quality improvement and medication safety initiatives, write policies, procedures, and best practices for all our retail sites, and help with optimizing revenue cycle and pharmacy profitability. I have been responsible for DMEPOS and vaccine accreditation through CMS, obtaining new licenses and permits, and implementing a prescription drug kiosk embedded in our physician offices.
As a medical writer, my work has been featured in GoodRx, Pharmacy Times, Drug Topics, Patient Care Online, and in peer-reviewed journals. I have also given presentations on a range of topics, from disease state pharmacotherapy for medical residents to updates on the CDC vaccine storage and handling guidelines for a medical-grade refrigerator and freezer manufacturer. I have written and presented continuing education for CEImpact, FreeCE, AchieveCE, Ascension Health, and the Florida Department of Health.
