Update: While state officials initially said the doses would be ruled out, at 4:18 p.m., nearly three hours after this story was published, Vermont Department of Health spokesman Ben Truman said state officials were arguing with Moderna over whether the doses could still, in fact, be used. Seven days will update this story as more information becomes available.
The state of Vermont will rule out 860 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, nearly 1 percent of all doses received so far, due to a storage problem at Springfield Hospital, officials said Wednesday.
Doses of the Modern vaccine were apparently stored slightly above the maximum allowable temperature, prompting the manufacturer to order that they be released due to concerns about their viability, said Human Services Secretary Mike Smith , during a regularly scheduled press conference.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Modern vaccine vials should be refrigerated at temperatures between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius.
“He was at 9 degrees at Springfield Hospital,” Smith said.
“I don’t have all the details,” he continued, seeming to read a statement he sent him minutes earlier via text message. “This is unfortunate because we have had minimal (I mean minimal) doses missed in this state.”
Vermont had lost less than 30 doses of vaccine last week, Health Commissioner Mark Levine said. The recently revealed deterioration represents a much more significant chunk.
The announcement of the deterioration was apparently news to Springfield Hospital officials, who were awaiting guidance from the Vermont Department of Health when Smith revealed that doses should be ruled out.
This was stated by Anna Smith, vice president of marketing and development at the hospital Seven days that the hospital pharmacy had called the health department Tuesday afternoon to confirm the temperature readings, prompting the discovery of a “discrepancy.”
“Our team said it was within reach, but the team that recorded it statewide read something different,” he said.
State officials called Springfield Wednesday morning and told them to cancel a vaccination clinic that was scheduled to begin in 30 minutes, Smith said. He could not confirm who had been shot. Vermont opened vaccination clinics for people over 75 on Wednesday.
Doses had not yet been ruled out as of noon. “We are waiting to hear from you [the health department] right now, ”Smith said, minutes after the announcement of the press conference.
Shortly after 1 p.m., the hospital issued a statement saying it had canceled the clinic “as a precaution” due to the discrepancy in temperature readings.
“Two hospital monitors recorded the temperature within an acceptable range and the Vermont State monitor recorded a grade above 1,” the statement said.
Levine said the state has “exquisite” sensors on refrigeration equipment to identify any problems. “In any kind of big vaccination program, these things happen,” he said.
Levine said the state was working out plans to make sure vaccinations of affected individuals were rescheduled quickly. It was estimated that approximately 400 of the missed doses will be used as second vaccines in the Moderna two-dose vaccination regimen.
Nearly 900 doses of the 96,825 received by the state have been wasted. “It’s not a high percentage yet,” Levine said.