A vaccine distributor in Columbus, Ohio, has been suspended after authorities said the company misused 890 doses of Covid-19 vaccine Moderna.
The Ohio Department of Health said in a press release on Wednesday that the provider, SpecialtyRx, had received 1,500 vaccine doses before January 1 to administer to residents of eight long-term care facilities.
After administration of the initial doses, the remaining doses were placed in SpecialtyRx’s refrigerator and freezer, where the temperature was not regularly monitored as needed to maintain the viability of the vaccine.
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“The company was investigating a transfer of the doses to another supplier when it was discovered that they could not properly monitor the temperature in their refrigerator and freezer,” the health department said.
The state agency investigated and determined that the 890 doses were not viable. Officials also ‘immediately suspended future allocations to Specialty Rx, and the supplier was instructed not to administer or transfer any of the doses involved and to quarantine them in both units until further steps are taken,’ said the health department.
The Moderna and Pfizer BioNTech vaccines require super-cold temperatures for long-term storage and can only spend short periods in normal freezers.
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“ODH requires all COVID-19 vaccine suppliers to check and record the minimum and maximum temperatures of refrigerators and / or freezers every working day,” the authority said.
“The first doses of the Moderna vaccine given to the residents and staff of the long-term care institutions were viable,” the health department said. “For the second dose, the long-term care facilities will have to coordinate with another provider, which is likely to be the local health department.”
According to a report by NBC News, Ohio has recorded 842,433 cases of coronavirus since the onset of the pandemic. Less than 1 percent of the state’s population has been vaccinated.
NBC News reached out to SpecialtyRx but did not respond immediately.
