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Find freezer space for your nasal flu vaccines

Pharmacy Regulation Resource, January 22, 2004

A scarcity of the influenza vaccine led many health care facilities to purchase FluMist, the nasal spray version. One problem exists: where do you store it?

The nasal flu vaccine, also called the live attenuated influenza vaccine because it contains a weakened live flu strain, must be frozen at 15 below zero Celsius, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

TIP: Do not store the nasal flu vaccine in a frost-free freezer because the temperature cycles may sometimes reach more than 15 below zero, according to the CDC's influenza Web site, www.cdc.gov/flu. If you must store the vaccine in a frost-free freezer, use a storage box from the manufacturer.

You may store it in a refrigerator between 2 degrees and 8 degrees Celsius for 24 hours once it is thawed. It should not be refrozen, the CDC says.

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