WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – More than a thousand doses of COVID-19 vaccine were damaged last week in Palm Beach County after the Health District said a refrigerator was accidentally turned off.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Coronavirus
Spokeswoman Robin Kish said Friday that on Jan. 22, staff members identified 232 refrigerated vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech outside the required temperature control range.
These vials contained 1,160 doses of the COVID vaccine.
Kish said the health district consulted with the vaccine manufacturer, who verified that the doses were not usable, so all vials were destroyed.
Officials said the incident occurred when the power supply from the refrigerator to store the vaccine was “inadvertently turned off” and caused the temperature to rise.
“The Health District immediately implemented additional layers of quality control measures in vaccine cold chain management to maintain the integrity of the entire vaccine supply going forward. One of the additional safeguards includes the centralization of all vaccines. vaccine supplies daily in a safe place with 24/7 power supply backup generator, “Kish said in a written statement.
Health officials describe it as an “isolated incident caused by human error,” but it did not affect patient safety.
“The health district can ensure that all COVID-19 vaccines provided to patients are always administered safely in accordance with the highest standards of care. The public should have the utmost confidence in integrity. of our vaccination system, ”Kish said.
Since its vaccination efforts began Dec. 23, the Health District said its health care system has provided about 25,000 COVID-19 vaccines throughout Palm Beach County.