5.5.3 Calculating the maximum stock level
You have learned that vaccines are easily damaged and that they are very expensive. It is not good practice to keep an unnecessary amount of vaccine in stock. The maximum stock level is the maximum number of vaccine doses that should be present in the refrigerator immediately after a new supply has been collected from the health centre.
The maximum stock level can be calculated using the following equation:
- smaxi = qperiod + smini
where smaxi is the maximum stock level, qperiod is the vaccine needs for the period, and smini is the minimum stock level.
Think again about the Health Post where the number of doses of OPV needed for a 2-week supply period is 80 and the minimum stock level is 20 doses. What should the maximum stock level of OPV be in this Health Post?
The number of OPV doses needed at this Health Post for a 2-week period is 80, and the minimum stock level is 20 doses, so the maximum stock level is (80 + 20) = 100 doses. So there should be no more than 100 doses of OPV in stock when the next supply of this vaccine is collected.
If your supplies of vaccine exceed your maximum stock level, it may be wise to consider returning some vials to the higher level.
5.5.2 Calculating the minimum stock level