WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – More than a thousand doses of COVID-19 vaccine were pampered last week in Palm Beach County after the health care district said a refrigerator was inadvertently turned off.
SPECIAL COATING: Coronavirus
Spokesman Robin Kish said on Friday that on January 22, staff members identified 232 Pfizer-BioNTech refrigeration vials outside the required temperature control range.
These vials contained 1,160 doses of COVID vaccine.
Kish said the Health Care District checked with the vaccine manufacturer, who checked that the doses were not usable, so all the vials were destroyed.
Officials said the incident was caused when the supply to the refrigerator holding the vaccine was “unintentionally switched off”, causing the temperature to rise.
“The health care district immediately implemented additional layers of quality control measures in the management of the cold vaccine chain to maintain the integrity of all going forward vaccine providers. One of the additional safeguards includes centralizing all daily vaccine deliveries in a safe location with 24/7 backup generator power, ”Kish said in a written statement.
Health officials call it an “isolated incident caused by human error,” but it did not affect patient safety.
“The healthcare district can ensure that all COVID-19 vaccinations provided to patients have always been administered safely in accordance with the highest standards of care. The public should have the utmost confidence in the integrity of our vaccination system.” said Kish.
Since they began their vaccination efforts on Dec. 23, the health care district said their health care system has provided nearly 25,000 COVID-19 vaccines in Palm Beach County.