After a freezer filled with Covid-19 vaccines broke down, a California hospital rushed to administer more than 800 doses in about 2 hours.

After a freezer filled with Covid-19 vaccines broke down, a California hospital rushed to administer more than 800 doses in about 2 hours.

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And they took on the challenge.

Judson Howe, of Adventist Health, told CNN the executive team at Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Medical Center in Mendocino County was notified Monday morning during a safety inspection. And the alarm that staff had to warn of the temperature change also worked incorrectly.

Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Moderna’s vaccine can be stored in normal freezers and does not need to be transported ultra-cold. But at room temperature, the vaccine has a shelf life of about 12 hours, Howe said.

Hospital officials contacted Moderna but did not hear from them again. So the hospital decided to chase the bell and administer the vaccines.

“It was our main focus to make sure we got every vaccine in every arm. We issued the country’s public health officer and informed them of the situation and with a joint approach we were able to administer all 830 vaccines in a matter of two hours, ‘Howe said.

Hospital officers had about two hours to coordinate all the efforts.
The freezer comes when local and state leaders scrambled across the country to administer all the distributed vaccines – amid what was also a slower vaccination than hoped. In California, about 27% of the vaccines distributed have so far been made into weapons. Government Gavin Newsom this week pledged ‘aggressive action’ to speed up the administration of vaccines, including granting a waiver allowing dentists to administer the vaccine after training.

About 200 doses went to the country to administer, 70 went to competent nursing homes and the rest went through four clinics, according to state prescriptions, dr. Bessant Parker said.

The emergency was “all hands on deck,” Parker said, and he also “ran around” to help coordinate the process.

“Since it was an emergency, we focused on as many people as we could quickly mobilize within the levels, and then the rest was for the general public on a first-and-first-run basis,” Parker said. The hospital had to turn away at least 200 people who showed up to search for the vaccine. Those who got their shot got CDC cards for detection.

“The reality is that we have faced a difficult situation and that we would not let any vaccine go to waste,” Howe added.

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According to the sheriff of Mendocino province, vaccines were administered to 97 people, including deputies, public security personnel, correctional departments and other emergency personnel.

NaphCare, the health care provider for prisoners in the country, administered the vaccines, adding that they were distributed according to the guidelines of the Department of Health.

“We ‘used or lost’ an unforeseen event,” said Carmel Angelo, the county’s chief executive. sheriff for supporting space and staff. We hope this will never happen again, but we have learned that we can mobilize quickly to serve our community. . “

The province has reported more than 2,600 cases of the virus. It is part of the designated Northern California region – which is about 30% available to ICUs and is the only group of counties that are not currently under a mandatory home order. The other four regions, which comprise more than 98% of the state’s population, have an available ICU capacity below 15%, which has caused the state’s homeland order.

CNN’s Cheri Mossburg contributed to this report.

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