Vaccine Handling Mistakes Every Swine Producer Should Avoid

Proper vaccine handling is just as crucial as vaccine selection when it comes to protecting swine health. In this episode, Dr. Mindi Bracy of Pharmgate Animal Health explains common pitfalls and best practices around vaccine storage, mixing and administration.

• Temperature Control is Critical: Store vaccines within the correct temperature range recommended on the label. Avoid both overheating and freezing, as even a single frozen or overheated bottle can signal larger issues with your storage practices.
• Follow Mixing & Administration Instructions: Pay close attention to label directions for mixing, rehydration and administration. For modified live vaccines, timing after reconstitution is especially important for maintaining efficacy.
• When in Doubt, Ask for Help: Lean on your local veterinarian or pharmaceutical representative for guidance. They can provide information on handling and answer questions unique to your operation.

Vaccine handling is an investment in both herd health and your bottom line — don’t let little mistakes cost you.

You can send questions to Dr. Bracy at mindi.bracy@pharmgate.com.

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The swine industry is small, and we’re dedicated to helping its people succeed. We want this podcast to be valuable to you, so send your health questions to lisa.wallace@pharmgate.com, and we’ll get them answered. 

Learn more about Pharmgate Animal Health swine solutions.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

It all comes down to health. Your pigs, your people, and your operation. Health challenges aren't going away, but Swine Health Hotline will answer your health questions so you can make the best decisions for your barns. Hosted by Ag journalist Casey Brown, this podcast will arm you with valuable insights on swine disease mitigation, safety protocols, tools, success stories, and more. Hello and welcome back to the Swine Health Hotline. We are so glad that you have joined us again. Today we are talking about a topic that, if done poorly, can really result in a lot of unintended consequences. So we're gonna make sure that we were handling our vaccines correctly. So today I am joined with Dr. Mindy Bracey with the FarmGate team. Dr. Mindy, you're a little bit newer to the FarmGate team. Can you give us a little bit about your background and what you do with Farmgate Animal Health?

SPEAKER_00 0:56

Yes, so as you said, I'm Mindy Bracey. I'm originally from Fort Worth, Texas. I graduated from bed school at Oklahoma State in 2022. And then right after school, upon graduation, I went to Seaboard Foods as a production veterinarian in the Gyman, Oklahoma region. I was there for about two and a half years and held various different roles in the health team. And then for the last year, I was at Christensen Farms up in Minnesota before coming to FarmGate in November of 2025. And so I'm a swine technical service veterinarian and I just partner with the team and other veterinarians in different systems to help solve problems.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Awesome. So are you based in the North Carolina headquarters or where are you in the country now? I am in Oklahoma. I was able to move back closer to home.

unknown 1:43

Cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

And so are you from a swine background? I'm actually not. My parents are both teachers, but my dad was an ag teacher. And so he worked on a Jimmy Dean farm in Texas back in the day when they owned South Farms. And then he got into it and helped with show pigs. And so that got me into raising show pigs when I was in high school. And so it kind of started my love for pigs.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

That's awesome. I love that. So today we're talking about vaccine handling and how to keep pigs healthy. And I have heard it said that vaccine handling is just as important as selection. So at a high level, can you explain what we mean by vaccine handling?

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Yeah, so I think that's a really good place to start because a lot of times people think vaccine handling and they just think of the fridge on the farm and when they take it out and administer it to the pigs. But really, it starts all the way back at the manufacturer until it gets so manufacturer to the farm. So that's storage, transport, administration, and preparation, all of it.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

That's a really great distinction. I know I think of the fridge on the farm. So that's awesome. So in your experience, where do you see things most often where within that timeline? Where do things go wrong?

SPEAKER_00 3:02

So there's a lot of different areas things can go wrong. I've actually worked up a couple different cases where maybe we thought the vaccines weren't working or they weren't efficacious. And it seemed like in my experience, they all went back to the refrigerator temperatures or the temp that the vaccine was kept during storage or transport. So that's probably the most important one, but some others would be the way that the vaccines administered. Are they giving the right dosage and then just not following labeled directions?

SPEAKER_01 3:33

So let's back up just a little just a little bit. Would you give us a refresher on the difference between MLVs and killed vaccines and then how that affects how they're handled too?

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Yes. So there are some key distinctions between the two. So an a killed vaccine is an inactivated organism that is actually adjuvanted. And so these are typically ready to use. You don't have to reconstitute them. They're ready to go in the bottle. You just lightly mix and can give it MLV, which is what we call modified live virus vaccine. Those are actually live organisms that have been attenuated or weakened. That's just a fancy word for it that we use. And they're typically freeze-dried in a cake, and so they have to be reconstituted with a sterile saline or something of that sort. And so then they have to be mixed after that. So those are the key differences.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

That just makes me think of how much of your time at vet school was learning all the fancy words, and then how much in your time as an actual veterinarian do you not use those words?

SPEAKER_00 4:39

Yes.

unknown 4:43

Right. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

Okay, so we've gone over the differences again. How does that affect how they're handled?

SPEAKER_00 4:52

There's a lot of different, I don't want to be specific because manufacturer labels are going to be different, but you know, modified live vaccines, because they are alive and they need to be reconstituted, something to keep in mind is how long can that product stay reconstituted and you still maintain quality and efficacy of the vaccine. So there's some aspects to how long after reconstitution can you use it. Whereas a killed vaccine, it's relatively stable. So those products you're not in a rush to use up. And so the key part there is once you puncture that bottle, you're you could then introduce spectral contamination. You're more thinking along those lines. So mixing, rehydration, and then time limits after rehydration are the biggest differences.

unknown 5:39

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

So let's talk about why temperature control is really so critical for vaccines. What actually happens to the vaccines if the temperature gets out of the correct range?

SPEAKER_00 5:51

So, really, the most important one that we focus on as veterinarians is it getting too cold. We really don't want the vaccine to freeze at any stage because the vaccine components will actually break down. And so then it affects the efficacy and quality of the vaccine. And what a lot of people don't think about is they just think about in their fridge if it's frozen when they pull it out to give it. But they don't think, hey, was it frozen in a warehouse before it came to me? Did it get frozen because it's negative 20 outside and I'm in Minnesota? So it could freeze at any point in the process, and it doesn't look frozen to you, but the quality of the vaccine could still be affected. So that's really important to think about. And then we also don't want it to get too hot. That's that's important too. We just always focus on freezing because you usually don't know when it froze, but heat would do the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

Yeah. And that I guess is why it's so important to have guarantees from your vaccine companies and and things like that. If they did get frozen within some line before it got to your operation, then you know that it's it's still going to work the way it's supposed to, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:05

Yes. And that's why there's usually you can reach out to your manufacturers or your distributors and ask for their uh maybe like their checkpoints and their processes so that they maintain accurate and good temperatures within the recommended range.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Awesome. All right. So talks about life raising is such a big deal. So in case you see that it has frozen on your operation, what should you do?

SPEAKER_00 7:33

What you should do is stop, don't use it, and call either your veterinarian or a pharmaceutical rep for the company that the vaccine is made by.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

So, like if your fridge was not at the right temperature, this is not a oh, it'll thaw and it'll be fine. It's not one of those situations.

SPEAKER_00 7:50

No, it's not. And it's good to think if not just that one bottle was frozen or if one bottle is hot, think about the rest of the fridge. Because typically on farms we fill them very full because you might get in shipments once a month, or for that whole nursery group at one time. So if one bottle's affected, the others are could be at risk, and they may just not be hot or frozen at that time. And you just noticed it in one bottle.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

All right. So for products that are opened or rehydrated, talk to me a little bit more about timing. What do we need to keep in mind for those?

SPEAKER_00 8:28

So it's always best practice to follow the labeled directions. Typically, what they're going to say is to use it up upon reconstitution or rehydration or puncturing of the bottle. And that's only because a lot of the rehydrated ones, they're live. So we want to make sure you're giving the product when it's alive and when it can be efficacious. So using them up as quickly as you can. Something we did in my experience, this is going to vary from system to system, but you know, if you're giving it at wean, you give it to a whole wean room, you have half a bottle left. What do you do with it? Because it's expensive. We would recommend go to the next wean room and give it because they're weaning tomorrow. They're within the labeled directions of age. Now, again, not everyone does that. They don't have those situations, but you just want to stay within that recommended of giving it as soon as it's rehydrated. And then with killed, like I said before, that's looking at bacterial contamination. So you want to make sure you're using it as using it up once it's punctured as well.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Is there a consideration for timing along with vaccine handling? Like we want to keep make sure that the pigs are not stressed so that the vaccine does what it's supposed to do. Are there best practices or recommendations that we can give to make sure that the pigs are ready for the vaccine and that we are also handling the vaccine correctly?

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Yes. So this is something that's often discussed and debated within health teams and production teams across the industry is when is the best time to give something. And there is not a one size fits all for even within one system, it may not be one size fits all because there's different health statuses of each flow to consider. So there's a lot of things to think about. There's maternal antibodies, there's stress on the pig, labor, execution. So even though I could do it, am I actually going to get it done correctly and well? And then the actual vaccination program. So there's sometimes one-dose programs, two-dose programs. So all of those things have to be considered to think about when's the best time to give it. So I'll give you some examples. So if you're on a sow farm, most sal farms uh pick up every pig during the weaning process. So they may elect to give either their full dose or their half dose and a two-dose program at wean simply because they know they're picking up the animal, it's safe for the people to restrain them. They know they're going to get the full shot into the pig and the correct placement. So the execution is really high and they have the labor to do it because South Farms typically have more people on hand than in a nursery. And then they'll use their company labor to do it. So they have you know good training and safety PPE in place. So that's one place where even though it's high stress for the pig, we know that we can execute it better. In some other situations, you know, maternal antibodies might be high, they might be going through a health challenge. So it's best to push everything into the nursery. And even though I know I might be using outside labor to do it and I'm having to pay higher, I know that it's better for the pig to protect them for the disease process we're vaccinating for.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

Awesome. Those are really helpful examples. So thank you for talking through that. And I know probably at every conference this is a debate, right? But it's it's good to keep thinking of. So as we're talking about vaccination, what are some of the biggest safety considerations we should keep in mind?

SPEAKER_00 12:04

You want to make sure you have the correct PPE because we want to keep our people safe first and foremost. So whatever that means for your system, specific gloves, safety glasses, things like that. And then for the pigs to keep them safe, you want to make sure you're using clean equipment and the proper technique, proper syringes. I think the clean equipment is often overlooked because they have the drop syringes or the tubing, and maybe it hasn't been rinsed out since the last use, so there's residue in there, or there oftentimes could be bacterial contamination in there that you're then going to inject. Typically, we get vaccines intramuscularly, so they're going to be injected directly into the muscle of the pig. So that is really key to the safety of the animal. And then the other thing people don't think about is on the rare off chance that you have an adverse reaction, what is your game plan? Have you trained the labor on what to give, what to do, and then do they have the actual, you know, whether it's medication or process on farm with them?

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Yeah. I know that's a very, very rare thing. What kind of training or things to think about ahead of time, should something happen? What kind of things would you recommend?

SPEAKER_00 13:23

I would recommend that one, they know what information they need to gather, how many pigs, you know, had the adverse reaction. A lot of times, by the time this happens, the vaccine bottles are thrown away and it's just reported a week later. Oh yeah, by the way, I had five that you know had whatever XYZ adverse reaction. Hopefully it doesn't result in mortality, but on the off-chance, rare occasion they do. So it's always good to get how many animals affected, what the site was, all the site information, what vaccine was it, the serial number, lot number, those things are important and that it's reported in a timely manner. So all of that. And then there's the other aspect to treating the animals at the time. So whether that's I need to keep the pigs in sternal, don't let them lay on their side, just so they have more chance of breathing, and then what medication is recommended by the veterinarian to administer at that time. And there are recommendations on our products of what to give, but veterinarians can also consult on that as well.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

I love this. We've gone through a lot of information pretty quickly. So if listeners only remember three best practices, what would you recommend those be?

SPEAKER_00 14:41

Well, I would have to say my common theme is make sure that they're stored correctly within the correct temperature ranges that's recommended on the bottle. So again, we don't want it to get hot or cold and like a broken record.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

Repetition's good.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

Yes, good. That's one. Second, I would want to make sure that they follow the correct mixing and administration instructions. So if it's to give one CC or two CC, they're following those labeled directions. And then when in doubt, ask a veterinarian or a pharmaceutical representative as they should know their products better than anyone and be able to consult and help solve your problems.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Speaking of the temperature, are there like what kind of tools are there available to make sure that your fridge is actually at the correct temperature?

SPEAKER_00 15:28

Talk to me a little bit more about that. So I guess the old school way of doing it is to put an actual thermometer in there or they make digital ones that can also go in there to your fridge. A lot of farms use these because they're cheap and easy to get. However, you want to make sure that they are reading correctly, that you're not getting inaccurate measurements. So there you do need to kind of calibrate them sometimes. But what I've often seen is farms put those inside the fridge at a consistent location and there's daily readings. Whether that's in the morning when they come in or before they leave for the day, they're writing down high low temps in the fridge. There's actually some newer technology out there where some of the ventilation systems are able to put a probe into the fridge and it will read through where, like in the barn they have high low temps, they can actually read fridge high low temps that integrates it all. Technology's awesome these days.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

Wow, that's amazing. That is so cool. Um, and I'm sure it's probably more high-tech of just don't put it on the door of the fridge, things like that.

SPEAKER_00 16:33

Correct, yeah. And what I've noticed too is a lot of times people will reach in and think, man, my fridge is kind of warm, so they keep turning down the temps. And at the back of the fridge, I don't know if you know, like in your household fridge, if you push something to the back, sometimes it'll form ice crystals and it seems a little frozen. It's the same thing in our farm fridges. They will freeze if they're pushed to the back. So it's always recommended if you can put it in the door, put it towards the front, just because we don't want the uneven temperature to affect the efficacy of the product. That's that's really great advice.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

Where can people go to learn more or to find reliable resources on vaccine handling?

SPEAKER_00 17:16

For our farmgate products, we have all of our vaccine um handling labels online at farmgate.com. Veterinarians are always really good resources or any pharmaceutical representatives.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Awesome. And is there any final advice you'd like to leave with producers?

SPEAKER_00 17:35

Yes, I would. So when I think about vaccines, I think about money. It's a big investment. So as an industry, we're investing into these vaccines to help our pigs' health be better. And so good vaccine handling is essential to vaccine efficacy and helping to ensure that we get a good return on that investment.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

Awesome. I love that. So thank you so much for sharing all of this information. If producers have specific questions, can they reach out to you? And how can they do that?

SPEAKER_00 18:07

Yes, we at FarmGate love to help answer questions and anything you may have. So you can reach me personally at mindy.bracy at farmgate.com. We also have a farmgate information email that's on the website. You can reach out to just customer service and when it comes to veterinary-specific questions, they direct them to the technical service team. Don't forget your local veterinarian that you work with. They would love to help you as well.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

Awesome. And we will make sure all of those links are in the show notes. Dr. Mindy, thank you so much for sharing your expertise and your insight today on vaccine handling. Thank you for sharing your contact information if anybody has questions. And listeners, thank you for tuning in to the Swine Health Hotline. Thank you for having me. That's it for this episode of the Swine Health Hotline. If you found it helpful, please leave a quick review on your podcast platform. It only takes a few seconds, and it helps other swine professionals discover the show. Better yet, share it with a fellow colleague who might benefit. Swine industry is small, and we are dedicated to helping its people succeed. We want this podcast to be valuable to you, so send your health questions to lisa.wallace at farmgate.com and we'll get them answered. This has been the Swine Health Hotline. Thanks for joining us.