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WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – More than a thousand doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were spoiled last week in Palm Beach County after the Health Care District said a refrigerator was unintentionally turned off.
SPECIAL COVER: Coronavirus
Spokeswoman Robin Kish said on Friday that on January 22, staff members had identified 232 chilled vials of Pfizer-BioNTech outside the required temperature control range.
These vials contained 1,160 doses of the COVID vaccine.
Kish said the health care district checked with the vaccine manufacturer, who verified the doses were not usable, so all vials were destroyed.
Officials said the incident was caused when the power to the refrigerator storing the vaccine was “unintentionally cut off,” causing the temperature to rise.
“The health care district immediately implemented additional layers of quality control measures in its vaccine cold chain management to maintain the integrity of all vaccine supplies in the future.” One of the additional guarantees includes the daily centralization of all vaccine supplies in a secure location with 24/7 backup power from the generator, ”Kish said in a written statement.
Health officials call it an “isolated incident caused by human error,” but it has not affected patient safety.
“The health care district can ensure that all COVID-19 vaccinations provided to patients have always been administered safely, according to the highest standards of care. The public must have the utmost confidence in the integrity of our immunization system, ”said Kish.
Since their vaccination efforts began on Dec. 23, the health care district has said its health system has provided nearly 25,000 COVID-19 vaccines in Palm Beach County.
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