Several Oregon health workers stranded in the snow decided to offer coronavirus vaccinations to their fellow stranded drivers so the vaccines would not go to waste.
The New York Times reports that Michael Weber, director of public health, in Josephine County, Oregon, was caught in the middle of the highway in a snowstorm with vaccine doses expiring within six hours.
Weber and other public health workers took doses of the Moderna vaccine to the Grants Pass, which was about 30 miles away from where they were.
When Weber and his team realized they could sit on the road for hours, they decided to offer the vaccines to the drivers stranded around them.
Most drivers turned down the shot because of the unusual nature of the situation. Although Weber added, there was a doctor and ambulance at the scene to oversee the vaccine administration.
“We had one person who was so happy, he took off his shirt and jumped out of the car,” Weber said.
“It was a strange conversation,” Weber added. “Imagine you were stranded in a snowstorm along the road and made someone walk up and say, ‘Hey. Do you want a shot in the arm? ”
The team eventually gave six doses of the vaccine on the snow-covered highway, according to the Times.
Weber was glad that some of the stock did not go to waste.
“Our number 1 rule has not been wasted at the moment,” he said.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US administered a total of 26,193,682 doses of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.