Photo By Joan Williams | U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Kevin Harding injects a sailor with the H1N1 flu...... read more read more
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FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- As the world prepares for the coming flu season, Defense Logistics Agency Distribution is delivering influenza vaccine to warfighters around the world.
The year’s first shipments of the vaccine departed DLA Distribution Susquehanna, Pa., in early August for issue to the military facilities that will administer the vaccine, said Birkley Wical, DLA Distribution stock readiness specialist.
“DLA Distribution and DLA Distribution Susquehanna, Pa., work diligently year-round to ensure our warfighters receive these critical inoculations, because we understand that it is imperative to keep our heroes healthy so they can perform at their best on behalf of our nation,” he said.
As the primary shipper of influenza vaccine for the military services, DLA Distribution Susquehanna, Pa., has issued more than 10 million doses in the past five years, with nearly 3 million of those issued last year alone, Wical said.
Although flu season begins to peak in November and continues through April, DLA Distribution Susquehanna, Pa., begins stocking and shipping the vaccine in the summer to ensure every service member receives the vaccine early to prevent outbreaks, he said.
DLA Distribution Susquehanna, Pa., has received 96 percent of the 2.6 million doses of the vaccine it anticipates receiving this flu season, Wical said. About 2.4 million of those doses have already been shipped to customers.
The process begins at DLA Troop Support, where the vaccine is ordered and shipped directly from the vendor. Once those orders are received at DLA Distribution Susquehanna, Pa., they are issued upon receipt of materiel release orders.
According to Wical, shipping the vaccine comes with some challenges.
“Maintaining cold-chain protocols is vital to the shipment process and preserving the integrity of the vaccine,” Wical said. “If the temperature rises or falls outside 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, the product could be rendered unserviceable.”
To avoid potentially compromising shipments, specialized packaging and digital temperature monitoring devices ensure quality during transport of the vaccines to the end user, Wical said.
“Temperatures are gauged in 15-minute increments within the shipping containers and ultimately, those readings are supplied back to DLA Troop Support for monitoring,” he said.
DLA Distribution Susquehanna, Pa., is the only U.S. Pharmacopeia-compliant cold storage facility within DLA Distribution, Wical said. The organization also stores and distributes antiviral pharmaceuticals and ancillary kits throughout the year.
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 10.05.2011 09:44 |
| Story ID: | 78046 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 37 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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