Beef Friendly™ Guide: Safe and Effective Vaccine Administration

Beef producers can help ensure that consumers enjoy beef products that are consistently safe, tender and healthy. The tips in our handy Beef Friendly Guide help you to minimize the risk of drug residues and injection-site blemishes that cause damage to the carcass.

Every producer has the opportunity and the responsibility to take steps to ensure that the beef we eat is safe, wholesome and tender. Pfizer's Beef Friendly program provides resources to help cattle producers establish a BQA program for their own operation.

Benefits include improved animal welfare, avoidance of drug residues and quality defects, lower production costs, and increased awareness of food safety concerns.

Pfizer has taken a leadership role in supporting and promoting BQA efforts. We have made significant investments in producer education materials – brochures, wall charts, videos and slide presentations – to emphasize the importance of quality in beef production. And we've changed our product labels to include Beef Friendly recommendations and instructions for product administration.

Here are some tips to help you maintain these high vaccination standards:

1. Select the right products



• Choose only federally licensed products backed by full company support
  
  


2. Don't combine vaccines



• Use only approved combinations


3. Read the label. Read and follow these instructions:



• Dosage



• Timing



• Route of administration



• Warnings



• Storage



• Withdrawal period



• Disposal



• Shelf life



• Indications



4. Use transfer needles to fully reconstitute products



5. Don't mix too much



• Mix enough vaccine for only one hour or less to obtain maximum effectiveness



• Don't save leftover vaccine for later use



6. Keep mixing. Shake large, multi-dose vaccine bottles from time to time so contents don't settle.



7. Mark and separate syringes



• Use different syringes for modified-live vaccines and killed vaccines



• Mark the syringes with paint or tape to keep them separate



8. Don't use disinfectants with MLV vaccines



• Use only hot water for cleaning modified-live vaccine syringes



9. Get the air out



• Pump syringe gently to release air and bring vaccine to needle tip



10. Gather and restrain animals properly



11. Select the best route



• Subcutaneous (SC), under the skin, is the preferred route whenever possible



• Products labeled IM (in the muscle) should be given in the neck



12. Choose the best site



• Keep all injections ahead of the shoulder



• Neck is the preferred site



• Never inject into the top butt
  
  



13. Choose the right needle



• 16 or 18 gauge



• 1" to 1 ½" long
  
  



14. Use proper injection technique



• Give SC injection into skin at an angle or into a fold of skin that’s pulled away from the body



• Administer IM injections with appropriate size needle



• Keep injection sites at least 4" apart
  
  



15. Place implants properly



• Place on back of ear, between skin and cartilage in the middle third of the ear



16. Avoid hide damage



• Avoid large brands or other inappropriate branding



17. Sanitation is essential



• Don't go back into the vaccine bottle with the same needle you use to vaccinate



• Change needles frequently (at least every 10 to 15 uses)



• Discard damaged needles



• Use disposable needles



• Avoid dirty or wet injection sites



• Clean transfer needles regularly with hot water



• Disinfect needle between injections when using killed vaccine

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