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A Kansas hospital was forced to throw away nearly 600 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine this week due to a “process error,” health officials said Thursday.
Lawrence Memorial Hospital said it received 570 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health on Wednesday. The doses are usually administered frozen – so they can be placed in a freezer in the hospital until ready for distribution.
The Lawrence, Kansas hospital in a statement said it had gone through the procedure, “not realizing they were already thawed.”
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Vials of Johnson & amp; Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in the Jewish National Hospital pharmacy for distribution in east Denver on March 6, 2021 (Associated Press)
“When we found out that the vaccines had been delivered to the hospital in a refrigerated condition, LMH Health immediately contacted Johnson & Johnson for advice,” said Brian Bradfield, associate vice president of ancillary services at LMH Health. “The company has advised that these doses will need to be discarded.”
LMH Health President and CEO Russ Johnson said a vaccination team aims to quickly review and refine their vaccine waste prevention processes. He says these processes “failed in this case” and the team is working to avoid future mistakes.
“While this is only a small percentage of all vaccines the county has received, we know it is not negligible – it is a heartbreaking situation for our hospital, our community members live. 2 and our Unified Command partners, ”Johnson said.
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“We owe it to our community and to the many volunteers and staff who dedicate their hearts to the immunization effort to get this done in a way that is both effective and efficient,” he continued. “We have had a near flawless process to date and we will determine where our processes failed and fix them.”
Bradfield said Johnson & Johnson asked the hospital to contact McKesson, a healthcare company overseeing the distribution, according to the statement.
“McKesson referred us to our state and local health department to coordinate replacement doses,” he said.
LMH Health and LDCPH were working to reschedule vaccine appointments for those affected by the error, FOX 4 of Kansas City, Missouri reported.
In January, nearly 2,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were spoiled at a Boston Veterans Affairs hospital after a contractor accidentally unplugged a freezer, hospital officials said.
In Wisconsin, a pharmacist agreed to plead guilty to federal charges after authorities said he deliberately ruined hundreds of doses by removing them from the refrigeration for two nights.
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President Biden announced in an address to the nation on Thursday that he is leading states, tribes and territories to ensure that all American adults become eligible for vaccination by May 1.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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