WEST PALM STRAND, Fla. More than a thousand doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were spoiled in Palm Beach County last week after the health care district said a refrigerator was inadvertently turned off.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Coronavirus
Spokesman Robin Kish said on Friday that on January 22, staff members identified 232 Pfizer-BioNTech coolers outside the required temperature control range.
Those vials contain 1160 doses of COVID vaccine.
Kish said the health care district checked with the vaccine manufacturer, who confirmed the doses were not usable. Therefore, all vials were destroyed.
Officials said the incident occurred when the refrigerator that stored the vaccine was inadvertently turned off, causing the temperature to rise.
“The healthcare district immediately implemented additional low quality controls in the management of the vaccine cold chain management to maintain the integrity of all vaccines going forward. One of the additional precautions includes centralizing all vaccines daily in a safe place with 24/7 power. generator, ”Kish said in a written statement.
Health officials call it an ‘isolated incident caused by human error’, but it did not affect patient safety.
“The healthcare district can ensure that all COVID-19 vaccines provided to patients are always administered safely according to the highest standards of care. The public must have the utmost confidence in the integrity of our vaccination system,” Kish said.
Since their vaccination efforts began on Dec. 23, the health care district has said their health care system has provided nearly 25,000 COVID-19 vaccines in Palm Beach County.