(Newer)
A freezer containing the Moderna coronavirus vaccine was activated in a safe place in a VA pharmacy in Boston, with an alarm system activated. ABC reports Tuesday, employees realized the freezer was not working. “The plug was found loose after a contractor accidentally removed it during cleaning,” a VA Boston Healthcare System spokesman said. “As a result, 1,900 doses of the Modern Covid-19 vaccine stored in the freezer were compromised.”
Officials said they did not expect the disaster to affect vaccination schedules. “Supplementary doses are underway,” the spokesman said. An investigation was launched by NBC into why the freezer’s alarm and monitoring system did not warn anyone. The Moderna vaccine should be kept cold, but the temperature, which was too low, destroyed a load of nearly 12,000 doses a month to NBC en route to Michigan. (A freezer in California left a hospital for two hours to administer the vaccine.)