Saving unused blackleg vaccines

[B&M Farms]

If you we're only vaccinating two heifers out of a 10 dose bottle of blackleg vaccine would you save the rest of the bottle. Everything I ever read said to dispose of the unused vaccine but I thought it might be from sticking cattle with the same needle. If you used a new needle and only had the bottle out of the cooler long enough to draw a dose each time, do you think the vaccine would be okay to save for future use?

 

[dun]

Not unless you can do those others in only an hour or 2 from when you first started using the bottle

 

[wbvs58]

On our Clostridial vaccines in Australia the manufacturer says and I am reading it straight off the Pfizer label now that the product can be stored and used for up to 30 days after first opening. Our Blackleg vaccines are killed toxoids and are very stable. I don't think our vaccines would be any different to yours in the US. I actually abuse the recommended time frame and frequently use them up to 3 months after 1st opening. The main issue is with contamination of the contents, and I am very carefull not to contaminate the bottle. The product would contain some bacteriostats and this would deal with mild contamination however time and heavy contamination would affect the safe longevity of the product.
Ken

 

[dun]

On our Clostridial vaccines in Australia the manufacturer says and I am reading it straight off the Pfizer label now that the product can be stored and used for up to 30 days after first opening. Our Blackleg vaccines are killed toxoids and are very stable. I don't think our vaccines would be any different to yours in the US. I actually abuse the recommended time frame and frequently use them up to 3 months after 1st opening. The main issue is with contamination of the contents, and I am very carefull not to contaminate the bottle. The product would contain some bacteriostats and this would deal with mild contamination however time and heavy contamination would affect the safe longevity of the product.
Ken

For killed taht nay work and probably does. We use only MLV and it has to be used within a couple of hours at the most.

 

[inyati13]

On our Clostridial vaccines in Australia the manufacturer says and I am reading it straight off the Pfizer label now that the product can be stored and used for up to 30 days after first opening. Our Blackleg vaccines are killed toxoids and are very stable. I don't think our vaccines would be any different to yours in the US. I actually abuse the recommended time frame and frequently use them up to 3 months after 1st opening. The main issue is with contamination of the contents, and I am very carefull not to contaminate the bottle. The product would contain some bacteriostats and this would deal with mild contamination however time and heavy contamination would affect the safe longevity of the product.
Ken

For killed taht nay work and probably does. We use only MLV and it has to be used within a couple of hours at the most.

This is about Clostridial which is a bacteria. MLV involves a virus. You are reading his question broader than Ken is. But the point is still good. The MLVs say to use them in an hour or less.

 

[bird dog]

When you go to a cattle seminar of some sort the teaching vet always says to use the total contents of the bottle or throw it away. When you go to the vets office and have one cow or calf that needs looked at and tell him to go ahead and vaccinate it while it there, he pulls out a bottle from the refrigerator that has been used. These are killed vacs not MLV.

I keep a half used bottle (if not to old) around in case I bring home something that I buy. I would rather give them a shot from this than nothing. A used needle never goes back into the bottle.

 

[Lucky_P]

Handled as you've described - kept refrigerated, with no contamination - killed bacterins/vaccines should be good for at least 4 months. I've kept them longer and used them - but have no way of knowing if they were still good. Recent research findings I've seen presented suggest that after 4 months, you oughta pitch them. It's cheap - why run the risk of not getting the immunization you need/want, if you're going to go to the trouble of giving it.

 

[B&M Farms]

Thanks for the replies. I bought two breeding age heifers I have know way of knowing for sure we're vaccinated. I was going to save the rest of the blackleg vaccine and use it to booster them in 6 weeks and was thinking it would be okay that long as long as I used a new needle and kept it cold.