Conservation of vaccines in primary health care centers from a town in midwest minas gerais

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Vaccine products are thermolabile and must be kept cold to preserve its immunological ability. It is therefore primordial to have a good refrigeration system to assure the quality of such products. OBJECTIVE: To understand how the vaccine cold chain works in the primary health care system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: this is a descriptive study which was carried out in 26 primary health care centers from a town in Midwest Minas Gerais. RESULTS: Some deficiencies in the vaccine cold chain were noted, such as: refrigerators not exclusive for vaccine products storage, inadequate display of the vaccines inside the refrigerators, and ignorance of technical cleaning procedures. CONCLUSION: Such deficiencies may put at risk the vaccine effectiveness. We conclude that adequate training of technicians, favorable work structure and further knowledge on vaccine cold chain are necessary to improve practice and avoid risks that could compromise the quality of service.