What should be done if a vaccine is suspected to be frozen during storage?

If a vaccine is suspected to have been frozen during storage, it is crucial to discard the vaccine. Freezing can damage the vaccine’s components, leading to a loss of effectiveness, which may render the vaccine unable to adequately stimulate an immune response in patients. The integrity of many vaccines is compromised when they experience temperatures outside of their recommended storage conditions, including freezing temperatures.

Discarding the vaccine is the safest option to ensure patient safety and efficacy; using a potentially compromised vaccine could pose significant health risks. Continuing to use the vaccine or reserving it for specific populations does not address the potential risk introduced by the freezing, while testing for viability is generally not reliable for determining whether a vaccine can be safely administered after such storage issues. Thus, proper protocols dictate that the best course of action is to discard the suspected vaccine.