More than 1,100 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine have been destroyed in Florida after a worker accidentally turned off the power to the refrigerator in a mobile vehicle where they were stored.
- A Palm Beach health worker accidentally stopped feeding a refrigerator where Pfizer vaccines were stored.
- The Pfizer vaccine should be kept refrigerated to preserve some of its components or otherwise left unused.
- The error meant that 232 vials of the vaccine, consisting of 1,160 doses, had to be destroyed.
- Palm Beach County official now stores supplies in centralized refrigerators with a safety generator to prevent a repeat of this incident
- Officials are struggling to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to the U.S. population in a timely manner
- Only 6.9% of Americans have received their first shot from Pfizer or Moderna; only 1.4% of citizens are completely vaccinated
- It is worrying news as highly contagious virus mutations have now been detected in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa on US soil.
More than 1,100 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine have been destroyed in Florida after a health worker accidentally turned off a refrigerator that kept the photos fresh.
Palm Beach County Health District employees discovered the error last Friday morning while performing a “quality assurance check” prior to administering the vaccines.
The Pfizer vaccine should be stored at -70 degrees Fahrenheit to preserve some of its components, but can be transferred to a regular refrigerator five days before administration. If left longer or exposed to warmer temperatures, they will degrade and become ineffective.
It is unclear how the worker managed to turn off the power from the refrigerator, which was inside a mobile vehicle.
More than 1,100 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine have been destroyed in Florida after a worker accidentally turned off the power supply of a refrigerator that kept the shots fresh.
Residents at a Florida assisted living center are pictured waiting for the Pfizer vaccine earlier this month
In a statement released Friday, Palm Beach County officials stressed that this was a “single, isolated incident caused by human error” and insisted that “it had absolutely no impact on patient safety.”
In light of the incident, officials have implemented “additional safeguards” and will now “centralize all vaccine supplies in a safe place with a 24/7 power generator backup.”
The county says the damaged vaccines, which constituted 232 vials (approximately 1,160 doses), were safely destroyed.
The mistake comes when Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla revealed on Friday that his company is trying to speed up the development of future vaccines in less than 100 days, warning that there is a “high possibility” that current vaccines are not effective permanently.
Bourla said Pfizer intends to move from recognizing a disease threat to authorizing a vaccine in less than 100 days, a timeline even below the proposed 300-day target last year. by Operation Trump Administration Warp Speed.
Vaccines against COVID-19 have developed at a record rate, due to technological advances, mass funding, and the public willingness to participate in trials.
However, there have been widespread delays with the release of the vaccine to the general American public.
According to current data, only 6.9% of Americans have received the first of two COVID Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Only 1.4% of citizens have received both doses and are now fully vaccinated.
Statistics worry about fears that new mutant coronavirus variants may run rampant without being detected in the U.S.
There are now more than 350 reported cases of “supercovid” in the U.S. of the three strains first detected in Brazil, the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Mutations are said to be up to 70 percent more contagious and can be 30 percent more deadly.
The widespread spread of these strains could overwhelm the hospital system and cause a considerable increase in deaths.
The United States has already reported more than 25.9 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country and more than 435,000 deaths in total.
Just one Friday, 165,339 new cases were added 3,503 new deaths.
More than 101,000 Americans remain hospitalized for the virus.
