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About 6,000 doses of the Orange County COVID-19 vaccine that may not have been at the recommended temperature due to a refrigeration issue are still safe to use, and the issue has not disrupted vaccinations at county sites on Wednesday February 10, officials said. .
County officials said the issue arose at the Soka University vaccination site on Tuesday evening and that they were delaying the administration of those doses on Wednesday “out of caution” while they checked with the manufacturer.
“After reviewing the details, the manufacturer indicated that the temperature variance did not affect the safety or effectiveness of the vaccine and confirmed that the vaccine could be safely administered according to the normal protocol,” the county said in a statement late Wednesday afternoon.
Lisa Bartlett, fifth district supervisor, said the Pfizer vaccine used at Soka should be stored in a cold temperature range. She said it was discovered that although the vaccines were refrigerated, they were at a temperature outside of this recommended range.
Pharmacists who arrived at work at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday to begin the vaccine prep process noticed the refrigerator malfunctioned and was not operating within the specific required temperature range, Orange County CEO Frank Kim told the City News Service.
Additional vaccine supplies have been made so those with appointments scheduled for Wednesday can still receive their vaccines, county spokeswoman Molly Nichelson said, adding that there had been “no disruption in our vaccination efforts ”.
County health official Dr Clayton Chau said the county is receiving around 37,000 doses of the vaccine per week and officials are aiming to deliver up to 4,000 injections per day at Soka University.
Third District Supervisor Don Wagner and Bartlett said the doses at Soka were in a restricted area and the problem does not appear to be due to tampering or fault. Wagner added that the OC sheriff’s department is examining the incident.
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