MEMO: Previously Exposed Vaccines

TO:  Health Care Providers Who Administer Vaccines

FROM: Niagara Region Public Health, Vaccine Preventable Disease (VPD) Program

REFERENCE: Previously Exposed Vaccines

DATE: March 27, 2023

There was a bio-cooler failure from March 10 – March 15 at the Ontario Government Pharmaceutical and Medical Supply Services, resulting in a breach in temperatures. Vaccines were exposed to a maximum temperature of +9⁰C for 120 hours.

The Ministry of Health conducted an assessment and the vaccines that were deemed suitable for continued use may be included in upcoming vaccine orders. These affected boxes have been marked with an “exposed” sticker for tracking purposes in the event of a future exposure.

Health care provider action

• Some vaccines in your order may contain an “exposed” sticker on the outer packaging. These products are stable for use until expiry and must be administered first.
  • Each vial/syringe will need to be labelled as “exposed” in the event your office inadvertently removes or discards the outer packaging
• If this or any other vaccine is exposed to temperatures outside of +2⁰C to +8⁰C, contact Public Health immediately to report and receive further instructions

More information

• Handling a Cold Chain Incident (for Health Care Professionals)
• To contact the VPD program, call 905-688-8248 or 1-888-505-6074 ext. 7396