POST 01158E : VACCINE OUT-OF-THE-COLD-CHAIN

POST 01158E : VACCINE OUT-OF-THE-COLD-CHAIN 17 September 2007 ________________________________________ The following article describes the use of an out-of-the-cold-chain immunization strategy to improve the timeliness of the HB birth dose in rural China. It showed a large improvement in the ability to reach newborns within 24 hours of birth when the vaccine was kept by village vaccinators, out of the cold chain, in their homes in rural areas. Another arm of the study compared the use of Uniject out of the cold chain and showed even higher coverage within 24 hours of birth. VVMs were used on all vaccines. The study provides useful guidance for China and other countries who are looking for ways to immunize hard-to-reach populations. Thanks Carib Carib Nelson Team Leader, Technology Solutions PATH ---------------- "Hepatitis B vaccination of newborn infants in rural China: evaluation of a village-based, out-of-cold-chain delivery strategy", by Lixia Wang, Junhua Li, Haiping Chen, Fangjun Li, Gregory L Armstrong, Carib Nelson, Wenyuan Ze and Craig N Shapiro ; Bulletin of the WHO, Volume 85, Number 9, September 2007, 649-732 ______________________________________________________________________________ All members of the TechNet21 e-Forum are invited to send comments on any posting or to use the forum to raise a new discussion or request technical information in relation to immunization services. The comments made in this forum are the sole responsibility of the writers and do not in any way mean that they are endorsed by any of the organizations and agencies to which the authors may belong. ______________________________________________________________________________ Visit the TECHNET21 Website at http://www.technet21.org You will find instructions to subscribe, a direct access to archives, links to reference documents and other features. ______________________________________________________________________________ To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message to : [[email protected]][email protected][/email] Leave the subject area BLANK In the message body, write unsubscribe TECHNET21E ______________________________________________________________________________ The World Health Organization and UNICEF support TechNet21. The TechNet21 e-Forum is a communication/information tool for generation of ideas on how to improve immunization services. It is moderated by Claude Letarte and is hosted in cooperation with the Centre de coopération internationale en santé et développement, Québec, Canada (www.ccisd.org ______________________________________________________________________________