Key messages
- The National Vaccine Storage Guidelines ‘Strive for 5’, 4th edition, provides best practice guidance for vaccine cold chain management.
- ‘Strive for 5’ applies to all health services, including medical practices, hospitals, clinics, aged care facilities, mobile services, and outreach providers.
- Cold chain is the system of transporting and storing vaccine within the range of +2°C to +8°C (strive for +5°C: the midway point).
- A cold chain breach is the exposure of vaccines to light or temperature outside the recommended range of +2°C to +8°C, excluding fluctuations up to +12°C lasting less than 15 minutes.
- All cold chain breaches must be reported to the Victorian Department of Health.
- Refer to Transporting, storing and handling for all COVID-19 vaccines on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.
- Refer to COVID-19 Cold Chain Breach (CCB) reporting form for all COVID-19 vaccine CCBs on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.
- Cold chain management essentials videos and Cold Chain eLearning modules have been developed to support best practice in cold chain management and ensure compliance with the ‘Strive for 5’.
Reviewed 27 January 2026
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