After a freezer holding the precious Modern COVID-19 vaccines that needed refrigeration broke into a Seattle hospital, medical staff rushed to vaccinate as many people as possible at the University of Seattle and University of Washington clinics.
It turned out to be one of the wildest vaccine launches ever, as doctors rushed to use the human vaccine before it expired Thursday night and early Friday morning, the Seattle Times reported.
“I got a call tonight at 9 o’clock and found out that a Kaiser freezer came down and we could help vaccinate people before the doses expire at 5:30 in the morning?” Jenny Brackett, assistant director at the University of Washington, told the Seattle Times.
Between the locations of UW Medical Center in the northwest and Montlake, they had 800 unexpected doses to administer.
Swedish non-profit health system posted on Twitter late Thursday night he had 588 appointments for the Modern coronavirus vaccine available from 11pm to 2am
The cause of the freezer failure at Kaiser Permanente was not immediately clear.
“It was late, she was being monitored – someone saw her and quickly thought of taking her to someone who could administer it,” said Cassie Sauer, president of the Washington State Hospital Association.
Sauer said no doses were used and 1,600 total doses were given at various locations.