Vaccine Presentation and Packaging Advisory Group: a forum for reaching consensus on vaccine product attributes.

Vaccine Presentation and Packaging Advisory Group: a forum for reaching consensus on vaccine product attributes Osman David Mansoor, Debra Kristensen, Andrew Meek, Simona Zipursky, Olga Popovaa, InderJit Sharma, Gisele Miranda, Jules Millogo & Heidi Lasher a United Nations Children’s Fund, New York, United States of America (USA). b PATH, PO Box 900922, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. c World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. d Crucell, Leiden, Netherlands. e Serum Institute of India, Pune, India. f Bio Manguinhos/Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. g Merck, Whitehouse Station, USA. Correspondence to Heidi Lasher (e-mail: [email protected]). (Submitted: 10 August 2012 – Revised version received: 26 October 2012 – Accepted: 29 October 2012 – Published online: 5 November 2012) In resource-constrained settings, getting vaccines safely and reliably to children in remote areas is a daily challenge. Exposure of vaccines to excessive heat or freezing temperatures, which often occurs in such settings, can compromise their potency. 1–4