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BOSTON (CBS) – Almost 2,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine were compromised at the VA Medical Center in Jamaica Plain after a freezer crashed.
Earlier this week, a contractor accidentally unplugged the freezer while cleaning up after a pipe burst and flooded the room where the vaccines were stored. As a result, 1,900 doses of the vaccine were compromised.
“For the Moderna vaccine, it’s 12 hours. Once it has been at room temperature for longer than that you can no longer guarantee its effectiveness and therefore you cannot administer the vaccine, ”Dr Paul Biddinger, medical director of preparation, told WBZ-TV. in the emergency room at Mass General Brigham.
Representative Stephen Lynch examines a freezer at the VA Medical Center in Jamaica Plain after COVID vaccines were compromised (Image credit Office of Congressman Stephen F. Lynch)
Kyle Toto, a spokesperson for the VA Boston Healthcare System, told WBZ that the vaccines were not thrown away.
Toto said the freezer was in a safe place and an alarm system was installed. An investigation is underway to determine why the surveillance and alarm system did not work.
“Reconstitution doses are underway and we do not plan to interrupt our vaccination effort,” Toto said.
Dr Biddinger said adequate storage is essential to maintain the integrity of the vaccine’s key component and its overall success against the virus.
Representative Lynch and Deputy Chief Pharmacist Antoun Houranieh examine vaccine freezers at the VA Medical Center in Jamaica Plain (Office of Congressman Stephen F. Lynch)
“The problem is that messenger RNA, mRNA, is really fragile. People kind of made the analogy of an M&M that really, really melts away.
Massachusetts representative Stephen Lynch said doses were transferred to Brockton and West Roxbury while the cleanup operation was still ongoing.
“They went below the temperature at which they are allowed to be stored, so unfortunately they were lost,” said Congressman Stephen Lynch. He says he’s convinced it was accidental, but called the Inspector General to make sure.
“A 6 inch cooler pipe burst and flooded the pharmacy where the vaccines were kept. During the clean-up operation, some of the contractor’s staff who were doing the reduction accidentally removed the freezer, ”Lynch said.
“They had enough for me at least,” said veteran Bob Kenney, who was still able to get his scheduled shot Friday. “I hope they can replace it so that no one has to do without it.”
“We don’t need any mistakes,” said veteran Paul Hapenny. “It’s 1900 doses that will not be in people’s arms.”
Wheeled freezers were brought in specifically to store COVID vaccines. VA Boston director Dr Vincent Ng said there was no backing on the outlet at the time, but has now been rewired with one. He also said the freezer alarm should have gone off when the temperature dropped, but did not.
“We are looking further into why it failed, but what we do know is that we have reactivated the alarm,” Ng said. “We’ve tested it a few times, and it works, so it’s been fixed.”
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