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Public Health & Epidemiology vocabulary · Prevention and Vaccination

Cold chain

Meaning in public health & epidemiology, with examples

nounCommon term

In public health & epidemiology, cold chain means: The system of storing and transporting vaccines and some medicines at the correct low temperature, usually between 2 and 8°C, from the factory until they are used.

In Turkish: soğuk zincir

How it is used

A weak cold chain can make vaccines useless. Staff monitor temperatures with data loggers, record any break in the cold chain and report a cold chain failure. Some vaccines need ultra-cold storage.

Example sentences

  1. A power cut broke the cold chain, and 200 doses had to be thrown away.

  2. Solar refrigerators have improved the cold chain in remote clinics.

Common collocations

  • maintain the cold chain
  • break in the cold chain
  • cold chain equipment
  • cold chain failure
  • vaccinationGiving a vaccine to a person so that their immune system learns to protect them against a specific infectious disease.
  • immunization scheduleThe official timetable that sets which vaccines people should receive, at what ages and in how many doses, in a particular country.
  • vaccination coverageThe percentage of people in a target group who have received a particular vaccine or all the required doses, such as children who had two doses of measles vaccine by age two.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Prevention and Vaccination

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.