Nearly 2,000 doses of Moderna vaccine are pampered after a cleaner freezer was disconnected from the VA facility in Boston as the number of drugs coming to Massachusetts drops by more than 70% this week
- Veteran Affairs Boston Pharmacy staff learned Tuesday that a freezer on the Jamaica Plain campus failed
- The failure destroyed 1,900 doses of vaccine
- A freezer outlet was loosened after a contractor “accidentally removed it during cleaning”
- While the freezer was in a “safe location” and had an alarm system installed, an investigation will look into why the monitoring system did not work.
- Once removed from refrigeration, vaccines remain viable at room temperature for up to 12 hours
- The facility spokesman shared that supplemental doses are underway
Nearly 2,000 doses of Modern vaccine have been missed at Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center in Boston as the number of vaccine doses coming to Massachusetts has dropped by more than 70%.
Veteran Affairs Boston Pharmacy staff learned Tuesday that a freezer on the Jamaica Plain campus failed, a spokesman for NBC Boston confirmed. The failure destroyed 1,900 doses of vaccine.
According to the spokesman, a socket for the freezer was loosened after an entrepreneur “accidentally removed it during cleaning”.
While the freezer was in a “safe location” and had an alarm system installed, an investigation will look into why the monitoring system did not work.
Veteran Affairs Boston Pharmacy staff learned Tuesday that a freezer on the Jamaica Plain campus failed
The Moderna vaccine must be shipped and stored at -4 degrees Fahrenheit for up to six months.
It can be stored at regular refrigeration temperatures – between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit – for 30 days.
Once removed from refrigeration, vaccines remain viable at room temperature for up to 12 hours.
The failure destroyed 1,900 doses of vaccine
The Moderna vaccine must be shipped and stored at -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 degrees Celsius) for up to six months. It can be stored at regular refrigeration temperatures – between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit – for 30 days. Once removed from refrigeration, vaccines remain viable at room temperature for up to 12 hours.
A spokesman for the facility shared that supplemental doses are underway, saying the VA does not “provide for the cessation of our vaccination efforts.”
But this week, the number of doses sent to Massachusetts fell 73 percent this week, according to the Department of Public Health. They received only 52,225 doses of vaccine.
The latest vaccine report from MA shows that 86,230 doses were administered this week, bringing the total dose administered in the state to 359,919.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced actions to dramatically expand vaccine production and distribution – to push the goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in his first 100 days in office.
The actions and orders are the beginning of an effort to revive the administration’s policy of pushing the vaccine, 400,000 Americans are already giving up COVID-19, and new mutations are already spreading in the country.
The plan will include 100 federal vaccination centers in large locations, such as convention centers and stadiums and reimbursed states for their establishment.
Some large cities are already setting up centers, including Miami, New York and Los Angeles, but 100 federal sites will spread the idea across the country.
And manufacturers will be required under the Defense Production Act to produce vaccine materials, from ingredients to needles, where there are gaps, as well as to produce protective equipment, such as N95 masks.
Biden also relies on Congress to provide $ 1.9 trillion in COVID-19 financial aid and response.
There are a lot of complaints from states that they are not getting enough vaccine, even though they are being asked to vaccinate a wider area of Americans.
More than 35.9 million doses were manufactured, but about half – 16.5 million – were distributed, according to a CDC tracker.