Flu season typically peaks between December and February, but by the time the winter holidays roll around, many of us will have already waited in line at area clinics, grocery stores, and pharmacies to get our annual flu shot. The Centers for Disease Control reports that U.S. vaccination efforts since 1994 have prevented an estimated 16 million illnesses every year.

Even so, some people choose to avoid vaccination, citing reasons like a lack of confidence in its usefulness, complication risks, or religious beliefs. Some news outlets thrive on the controversy, sensationalizing reports of disease outbreaks, possible vaccine failures, and anti-vaccination propaganda. Yet the public debates have missed a critical factor in vaccine effectiveness: temperature.

That’s right. To work correctly, all vaccines require strict temperature control from the point of manufacture up until they are injected into a patient’s arm. Our work at NIST is helping to ensure that providers know how to maintain vaccines at the right temperatures, so those who get the shot can be confident that every dose works as intended.

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