Bad refrigerator storage threatens vaccines in Hong Kong, say medical experts
It has emerged that many private clinics use domestic refrigerators to store vaccines instead of special pharmacy ones designed to protect vaccines at specific temperatures
The quality of vaccines could be at risk as up to 80 per cent of Hong Kong’s private clinics are not storing them properly, experts have warned amid a surge in demand because of a vaccine scare on the mainland.
Instead of using pharmacy refrigerators designed to protect drugs at specific temperatures, many private doctors are using ordinary domestic fridges. This has exposed a potential loophole in regulation as the government has only inspected the storage of dangerous drugs over the past three years.
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“Patients have no way to complain as they usually won’t ask to check a doctor’s vaccine fridge before receiving a vaccination. They rely on the doctor’s conduct or knowledge,” said College of Family Physicians president Dr Angus Chan Ming-wai, noting that the conduct of most doctors in the city was good.
Doctors are advised by professional bodies to store vaccines at temperatures between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius, but there are no clear official guidelines on what kind of refrigerator should be used.
William Chui Chun-ming, president of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists, warned that inconsistent temperatures in domestic fridges, which are believed to be widely used in some 3,000 private clinics in the city, could compromise the protection of vaccines.
“Temperature variation [in a domestic fridge] could be large … When the door is open, the temperature can go up 2 degrees very quickly,” Chui said. “It is very rare for vaccines to turn toxic if potency drops, but protection would be lost.”