Seattle hospitals rush to distribute 1,300 doses of Covid vaccine in the middle of the night | Seattle

Seattle hospitals shipped Covid-19 vaccines to hundreds of people in the middle of the night after a freezer in which they were stored broke down.

It’s unclear exactly what caused the freezer to crash Thursday night, but the Northwest and Montlake campuses of UW Medical Center and Swedish Medical Center received over 1,300 doses of the vaccine that were due to be used before it expired at 5:30 a.m. Friday, according to the Seattle Times reported.

Word of the unexpected doses spread across social media, and a line of hopeful vaccine recipients slipped past the clinic door and through a parking lot at UW Medical Center-Northwest.

At the Swedish medical center, a hundred people lined up. The hospital tweeted at 11:59 p.m. that it had 588 doses to dispense, and by 12:30 p.m., all appointment slots had been made.

At UW Medical Center-Northwest, Assistant Administrator Jenny Brackett walked alongside the crowd shouting and asking if anyone was over 65. Brackett said the hospital was doing its best to vaccinate eligible people, but the main goal was to get him in the arms. and avoid waste. But many of those who did show up were too young and healthy to qualify under Washington state’s current priority categories for vaccine distribution.

A woman drawn from the crowd at UW-Northwest Medical Center, Tyson Greer, 77, said she had been waking up at 1 or 3 a.m. for more than a week to search online for coveted immunization appointments. She finally received a gunshot at 1am on Friday.

Many of the staff working at the vaccination clinic had been at work since 7 a.m. Thursday, said Keri Nasenbeny, associate head nurse.

When she learned of the freezer breakdown, she called several nurses, who in turn recruited pharmacists and other volunteers. A Seattle firefighter appeared to come out of nowhere to help, and a hospital staff member’s boyfriend helped manage the queue.

Those who branded the vaccine were grateful. Sarah Leyden, 57, learned the photos were available from her wife, a hairdresser, who heard from a client who is a nurse. “I just got lucky,” Leyden said.

Anyone who received a first injection Thursday night will also receive the second injection of the two-dose regimen, regardless of age, said Cassie Sauer, president of the Washington State Hospital Association.