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Condition on Arrival
- Should not have been frozen; refrigerate on arrival.
Storage
- Refrigerate immediately on arrival; store vaccine at
2°C to 8°C (36°F to 46°F); DO
NOT FREEZE.
Handling
- Shake well before withdrawal and use. Thorough agitation
is necessary to maintain suspension of the vaccine.
- The vaccine should be used as supplied; no reconstitution
is necessary.
- Parenteral drug products should be inspected visually
for extraneous particulate matter and discoloration prior
to administration whenever solution and container permit.
The vaccine is a slightly opaque, white suspension.
General Tips
- If you have questions about the condition of the vaccine
at the time of delivery, you should immediately place
vaccine in recommended storage; and call the Merck Vaccine
Customer Center at 1-877-VAX-MERCK (1-877-829-6372), or call
the CDC at 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636).
- Rotate stock so that the shortest-dated vaccine is
used first.1
- Ensure that the refrigerator is plugged into an outlet
in a protected area where it cannot be disconnected accidentally.1
- Record refrigerator and freezer temperatures twice
a day in a temperature
log.1
- It is important to use a separate sterile syringe and
needle for each individual patient to prevent transmission
of infectious agents from one person
to another.
- Needles should be disposed of properly.1
- All vaccines must be discarded after the expiration
date; expired or damaged Vaccines for Children (VFC)
vaccines must be returned to your State Immunization
Program.
- For vaccines that are used as supplied, no reconstitution
is necessary. Click
here for a demonstration of proper handling when
reconstitution is not required.
- For general questions concerning the proper storage
and handling of Merck vaccines, please contact the Merck
Vaccine Customer Helpline at 1-800-MERCK-90 (1-800-637-2590),
Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to
7:00
pm ET.
- Before administering PedvaxHIB, please read the Prescribing
Information.
PedvaxHIB is indicated for routine vaccination
against invasive disease caused by Haemophilus influenzae type
b in infants and children 2 to 71 months of age. PedvaxHIB
should not be used in infants younger than 6 weeks of age.
Select Safety Information
PedvaxHIB is contraindicated
in patients with hypersensitivity to any component of the
vaccine. Persons who develop symptoms suggestive
of hypersensitivity after an injection should not receive
further injections of the vaccine.
As with any vaccine, the
use of PedvaxHIB may not result in a protective antibody
response in all vaccinees; PedvaxHIB may not induce protective
antibody levels immediately following vaccination.
The most frequently reported
(>1%) adverse reactions, without regard to causality,
were fever (>101°F), irritability, sleepiness,
injection-site pain/soreness, injection-site erythema (<2.5
cm diameter), injection-site swelling/induration (<2.5
cm diameter), unusual high-pitched crying, prolonged crying
(>4 hours), diarrhea, vomiting, crying, pain, otitis
media, rash, and upper respiratory infection.
Before administering PedvaxHIB,
please read the Prescribing
Information.
Reference: 1.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccine storage
and handling
(Appendix C). In Atkinson W, Hamborsky
J, McIntyre L, Wolfe S, eds. Epidemiology and Prevention
of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. 10th ed. Washington DC:
Public Health Foundation; 2007:C1-C20.
PedvaxHIB is a registered trademark
of Merck & Co., Inc.
View storage
and handling requirements for all Merck vaccines.
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