(Newser)
– About 500 doses of the precious Moderna coronavirus vaccine were discarded in a Wisconsin clinic after an “unintentional human error.” Fifty vials, each containing 10 doses of vaccine, were taken out of a refrigerator at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, about 20 miles north of Milwaukee, on Friday so that one person could access other items in the refrigerator, according to a communiqué of lawyer Aurora. Health, after Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The bottles were not returned to the refrigerator. The error was made before 12 hours, which means that some doses of the vaccine may still be given. But most had to be discarded on Saturday because the vaccine cannot withstand room temperature more than that.
The Moderna vaccine is delivered frozen and, once thawed, the vials can be stored in the refrigerator (at temperatures between 36 degrees Fahrenheit and 46 degrees Fahrenheit) for up to 30 days. “We are clearly disappointed and regret that this has happened,” said Aurora Health, who has vaccinated about 17,000 employees in the past two weeks. Sentinel Journal. Earlier this month, The Albuquerque Journal reported that a shipment of 75 doses of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine had to be discarded in New Mexico “after a digital device showed it was overheated when transported to a hospital in Clayton.” A spokesman for Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said it was “probably a malfunction of the digital data recorder.” (Read more stories about the coronavirus vaccine.)