More than 1,100 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are DISTRIBUTED in Florida after the worker accidentally turned off the power supply to the refrigerator in a mobile vehicle in which they were stored.
- Palm Beach doctor accidentally stopped powering a refrigerator where Pfizer vaccines were stored
- The Pfizer vaccine should be stored in the refrigerator to store some components or is otherwise useless.
- The blunder meant that 232 vaccine ampoules – consisting of 1,160 doses – had to be destroyed
- Palm Beach County official now stores consumables in centralized refrigerators with a backup generator to prevent a recurrence of such an incident
- Officials are struggling to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine to the American population in a timely manner
- Only 6.9 percent of Americans received their first blow Pfizer or Moderna; only 1.4% of citizens are completely vaccinated
- It is worrying news, given that highly contagious virus mutations in the UK, Brazil and South Africa have now been detected on US soil.
More than 1,100 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine were destroyed in Florida after a health worker accidentally turned off a refrigerator that kept the photos cold.
Employees in the Palm Beach County Nursing District discovered the error Friday morning while performing a “quality assurance check” before administering the vaccines.
The Pfizer vaccine should be stored at -70 degrees Fahrenheit to preserve some of its components, but can be transferred to a regular refrigerator five days before administration. If left longer – or exposed to warmer temperatures – they will degrade and become ineffective.
It is not clear how the worker managed to turn off the power supply to the refrigerator, which was inside a mobile vehicle.
More than 1,100 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine were destroyed in Florida after a worker accidentally turned off the power supply to a refrigerator that kept photos cold.
Florida caregivers expected Pfizer vaccine earlier this month
In a statement released Friday, Palm Beach County officials stressed that it was “a unique, isolated incident caused by human error” and insisted that “it had absolutely no impact on patient safety.”
In light of the incident, officials have implemented “additional safeguards” and will “centralize all vaccine reserves in a safe location with a 24/7 power generator back-up.”
The county says the damaged vaccines, which amounted to 232 ampoules – or about 1,160 doses – were safely destroyed.
The blunder comes when Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla revealed on Friday that his company is trying to accelerate the development of future vaccines in less than 100 days, warning that there is a “high possibility” that current vaccines will not be permanently effective.
Bourla said Pfizer intends to move from recognizing a threat of disease to obtaining a licensed vaccine in less than 100 days – an even shorter timeline than the administration’s 300-day target proposed by Operation Warp Speed last year. Trump.
COVID-19 vaccinations have been developed at a record speed due to technological advances, massive funding and the public desire to participate in the studies.
However, there have been widespread delays in launching the vaccine to the general American public.
According to current data, only 6.9% of Americans have received the first of two Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccines.
Only 1.4% of citizens have received both doses and are now fully vaccinated.
The statistics are linked to fears that new mutant variants of the coronavirus could run undetected in the United States.
Currently, more than 350 cases of “super-covid” of the three strains first detected in Brazil, the United Kingdom and South Africa are reported in the United States.
Mutations are said to be up to 70% more contagious and could be 30% more deadly.
The widespread spread of these strains could overwhelm the hospital system and lead to a considerable increase in deaths.
The US has already reported more than 25.9 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country and more than 435,000 deaths in total.
Just one Friday, 165,339 new cases added 3,503 new deaths.
More than 101,000 Americans remain in hospital, being treated for the virus.
