Temperature monitoring study: a fully documented process to detect weaknesses in the supply chain

Studies in both industrialized and developing countries have revealed that vaccines are commonly exposed to damaging temperatures, especially exposure to sub-zero temperatures. The simplest way to identify these risks is to conduct a systematic temperature monitoring study of the entire vaccine supply chain. The goal of a temperature monitoring study is to gather temperature data for vaccines throughout the supply chain in order to identify risks and prevent temperature excursions that may damage vaccines. This evidence brief provides supply chain managers in low- and middle income countries with examples of results from temperature monitoring studies that show evidence of the potential risks to vaccines in the supply chain.