VVMs (Vaccine Vial Monitors) are small indicators that adhere to vaccine vials and change color as the vaccine is exposed to cumulative heat, letting health workers know whether the vaccine has exceeded a pre-set limit beyond which the vaccine should not be used. This page provides a list of useful resources on VVMs, organised into the following sections:
- What is a VVM?
- How to read a VVM
- VVM training videos for healthcare workers
- VVM resources for supply chain managers
- VVM in a controlled temperature chain (CTC)
- WHO PQS performance specifications related to VVM
- Other VVM resources
What is a VVM?
The following resources introduce the VVM and explain how it works.
| Title | Author | Year | Type | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaccines work - video explainer | Temptime | 2019 | Training | English |
| What is a vaccine vial monitor (VVM)? | Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance | 2019 | Training | English |
How to read a VVM
Resources that explain how to read a VVM to determine whether a vaccine can be safely used for immunization.
| Title | Author | Year | Type | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How does a VVM work? | EPELA, World Health Organization (WHO), Denis Maire | 2020 | Training | English |
| How to Read a VVM | Immunization Academy | 2018 | Training | English, Hausa, Swahili, French |
| Immunization in Practice - Module 2: The vaccine cold chain | World Health Organization (WHO) | 2015 | Guidance | English |
| Vaccine vial monitor (VVM) | World Health Organization (WHO) | 2021 | Poster/infographic | English, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, French |
| Vaccine vial monitor, PSM Lectures | Rajeev Ranjan Gupta | 2017 | Training | Hindi |
| Vaccine Vial Monitors (VVM) - Online course | UNICEF | 2020 | Training | English |
VVM training videos for healthcare workers
Videos on how healthcare workers should use VVMs.
| Title | Author | Year | Type | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Choosing which VVM to dispatch for a lower facility | EPELA, World Health Organization (WHO) | 2013 | Guidance | English |
| Conducting Supervision: Providing on the job training | Immunization Academy | 2020 | Training | English, French |
| Monitoring the Cold chain: Monitoring Temperatures at health facilities | Immunization Academy | 2020 | Training | English, French |
| Monitoring the cold chain: What Temperatures Should Vaccines Be? | Immunization Academy | 2020 | Training | English, French |
| Monitoring Vaccine Stock: Monitoring Vaccine and Safe-Injection Stock | Immunization Academy | 2020 | Training | English, Hausa, Swahili, French |
| Packing for an Immunization Session | Immunization Academy | 2020 | Training | English, French |
| TASK - VVM use at the most periphery (outreach) | EPELA, World Health Organization (WHO) | 2013 | Guidance | English |
| Using the Multi-Dose Vial Policy | Immunization Academy | 2020 | Training | English, French, Hausa, Swahili |
| Vaccine Management: Arranging Vaccines Inside Any Refrigerator | Immunization Academy | 2020 | Training | English, Hausa, Swahili, French |
| Vaccine Management: Using Front-Opening Refrigerators | Immunization Academy | 2020 | Training | English, French |
| Vaccine management: Using Top-Opening Refrigerators With Baskets | Immunization Academy | 2020 | Training | English, French |
| Vaccine management: Using Top-Opening Refrigerators Without Baskets | Immunization Academy | 2020 | Training | English, French |
| What to Do When a Refrigerator Temperature Is Too High or Low | Immunization Academy | 2020 | Training | English, Hausa, Swahili, French |
VVM policy documents and publications
Resources that provide policies guiding VVM use.
| Title | Author | Year | Type | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tools and approaches to ensure quality of vaccines throughout the cold chain | Julie Milstien, Umit Kartoglu | 2014 | Journal article | English |
| Vaccine Management Handbook: How to use passive containers and coolant-packs for vaccine transport and outreach operations | World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF | 2015 | Guidance | English, French |
| WHO policy statement: multi-dose vial policy (MDVP): handling of multi-dose vaccine vials after opening | World Health Organization (WHO) | 2014 | Guidance | English, French |
| WHO-UNICEF policy statement on the implementation of vaccine vial monitors: the role of vaccine vial monitors in improving access to immunization | UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO) | 2007 | Guidance | English |
| WHO-UNICEF policy statement on the use of vaccine vial monitors in immunization services | UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO) | 1999 | Guidance | English, French |
VVM in a Controlled Temperature Chain (CTC)
Resources on CTC with reference to VVMs and Peak Temperature Threshold Indicators (PTTI).
| Title | Author | Year | Type | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessing the potency of oral polio vaccine kept outside of the coldchain | Simona Zipursky, Liliane Boualam, Dah Ould Cheikh, Jacqueline Fournier-Caruana, Djabar Hamid, Mathias Janssen, Umit Kartoglu, Genevieve Waeterloos, Olivier Ronveaux | 2011 | Journal article | English |
| Benefits of using vaccines out of the cold chain: Delivering Meningitis A vaccine in a controlled temperature chain during the mass immunization campaign in Benin | Simona Zipursky, Mamoudou Harouna Djingarey, Jean-Claude Lodjo, Laifoya Olodo, Sylvestre Tiendrebeogo, Olivier Ronveaux | 2014 | Journal article | English |
| Extending supply chains and improving immunization coverage and equity through controlled temperature chain use of vaccines | Raja Rao, Debra Kristensen, Anna-Lea Kahn | 2017 | Journal article | English |
| Vaccines beyond the cold chain - Simona Zipursky | Simona Zipursky, EPELA, World Health Organization (WHO) | 2013 | Guidance | English |
WHO PQS performance specifications
Resources that provide technical reference material on the science behind VVM.
| Title | Author | Year | Type | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [WHO_PQS_E006_IN04.1] Threshold Indicators Performance Specification | World Health Organization (WHO) | 2020 | Guidance | English |
| [WHO_PQS_E006_IN04.VP.1] Threshold Indicator Independent type-testing protocol | World Health Organization (WHO) | 2020 | Guidance | English |
| [WHO_PQS_E006_IN05-VP.4] Vaccine Vial Monitor Independent type testing protocol | World Health Organization (WHO) | 2020 | Guidance | English |
| [WHO_PQS_E006_IN05.4] Vaccine Vial Monitor Performance Specification | World Health Organization (WHO) | 2020 | Guidance | English |
| [WHO_PQS_E006_IN06.1] Combined VVM Threshold Indicator Performance Specification | World Health Organization (WHO) | 2019 | Guidance | English |
| [WHO_PQS_E006_IN06.VP.1] Combined VVM and Threshold Indicator Independent type-testing protocol | World Health Organization (WHO) | 2020 | Guidance | English |
Other VVM resources
Journal articles, webinars, and other publications that provide background information on the VVM.
| Title | Author | Year | Type | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold chain challenges everywhere - Simona Zipursky | Simona Zipursky, EPELA, World Health Organization (WHO) | 2013 | Guidance | English |
| Interpretation of VVM in relation to other temperature monitoring devices - Umit Kartoglu | Umit Kartoglu, EPELA, World Health Organization (WHO) | 2019 | Training | English |
| Last mile - Umit Kartoglu | Umit Kartoglu, EPELA, World Health Organization (WHO) | 2013 | Guidance | English |
| The Book of VVM: Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow | Umit Kartoglu | 2020 | Guidance | English |
| Using VVM as a stock management tool | Ümit Kartoglu | 2013 | Training | English |
| Vaccine instability in the cold chain: mechanisms, analysis and formulation strategies | Kumru OS et al. | 2014 | Journal article | English |
| Vaccine storage and handling practices among routine immunization service providers in a metropolitan city of north-central Nigeria | S. A. Aderibigbe, O. I. Musa, M. M. B. Uthman, O. A. Bolarinwa, A. G. Salaudeen , H. A. Ameen | 2014 | Journal article | English |
| Vaccine Vial Monitor (VVM)-based vaccine management - Presentation slides | Umit Kartoglu | 2020 | Presentation | English |
| Vaccine vial monitor availability and use in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review | Pär Eriksson, Bradford D. Gessner, Philippe Jaillard, Christopher Morgan, Jean Bernard Le Gargasson | 2017 | Journal article | English |