Nearly 2,000 doses of Moderna vaccine are spoiled after the freezer was accidentally disconnected at the VA facility in Boston, as the number of drugs coming to Massachusetts drops more than 70 percent this week.
- Staff at Veterans Affairs Boston Pharmacy found out Tuesday that a freezer on the Jamaica Plain campus failed
- The failure destroyed 1,900 doses of the vaccine
- A plug for the freezer was loose after a contractor accidentally removed it during cleaning.
- While the freezer was ‘in a safe place’ and had an alarm system in place, it will be investigated why the monitoring system did not work
- Once removed from the refrigerator, it remains viable at room temperature for up to 12 hours.
- The spokesperson for the facility did say that additional doses are in the works.
Nearly 2,000 doses of Modern vaccines have been wasted at Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center in Boston as the number of vaccine doses to Massachusetts drops by more than 70 percent.
Veterans Affairs Boston Pharmacy staff found Tuesday that a freezer on the Jamaica Plain campus failed, a NBC Boston spokesman confirmed. The failure destroyed 1,900 doses of the vaccine.
According to the spokesperson, a plug for the freezer was loose after a contractor accidentally removed it during the cleaning. ‘
While the freezer was ‘in a safe place’ and had an alarm system in place, an investigation will be launched into why the monitoring system did not work.
Staff at Veterans Affairs Boston Pharmacy found out Tuesday that a freezer on the Jamaica Plain campus failed
The Moderna vaccine should be stored at -4 degrees Fahrenheit for up to six months.
It can be stored for 30 days at regular cooling temperatures – between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once removed from the refrigerator, it remains viable at room temperature for up to 12 hours.
The failure destroyed 1,900 doses of the vaccine
The Moderna vaccine should be stored at -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 degrees Celsius) for up to six months. It can be stored for 30 days at regular cooling temperatures – between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit. Once removed from the refrigerator, it remains viable at room temperature for up to 12 hours.
The spokesperson for the facility did say that the supplement dose was underway, claiming that the VA did not ‘provide for disruption of our vaccination effort’.
According to the Department of Public Health, this week the number of doses sent to Massachusetts decreased by 73%. They received only 52,225 doses of the vaccine.
The latest vaccination report from MA shows that 86,230 doses were given this week, bringing the total doses in the state to 359,919.
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced actions to dramatically expand the production and distribution of vaccines – to advance his goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in his first 100 days in office.
The actions and mandates are the start of an effort to revamp the government’s policy to release the vaccine, with 400,000 Americans already succumbing to COVID-19, and new mutations already spreading across the country .
The plan will compensate 100 federal vaccination centers in large venues such as convention centers and stadiums and states for setting up their own as well.
Some major cities are already setting up the centers, including in Miami, New York and Los Angeles, but 100 federal websites will spread the idea across the country.
And manufacturers will be ordered under the Defense Production Act to produce vaccine materials, from ingredients to needles, where there are shortages, as well as to produce protective equipment such as N95 masks.
Biden is also dependent on Congress to provide $ 1.9 billion for economic relief and COVID-19 response.
There are a number of complaints from countries that say they are not getting enough vaccine as they are being asked to vaccinate a wider range of Americans.
According to a CDC tracker, more than 35.9 million doses have been produced, but about half – 16.5 million – have been distributed.