Hospitals in Seattle spilled Covid-19 vaccines in the middle of the night to hundreds of people after a freezer in which they were stored failed.
It is not clear what exactly caused the freezer on Thursday night, but the Northwest and Montlake campuses of the UW Medical Center and the Swedish Medical Center received more than 1,300 doses of vaccines that had to be used before it expired at 5:30 p.m. has, the Seattle Times. report.
The message about the unexpected doses spread on social media, and a series of hopeful vaccine recipients snuck out the clinic door and through a parking lot at the UW Medical Center Northwest.
One hundred people lined up at the Swedish Medical Center. The hospital tweeted at 23.59 that it had 588 doses to give out, and by 12:30 all the appointments had been made.
In UW Medical Center, Northwest, Jenny Brackett, assistant administrator, walked past the crowd and asked if anyone was older than 65. Brackett said the hospital is doing its best to vaccinate those who are eligible, but that the main goal was to get it into the gun. and avoid wastage. But many of those who showed up were too young and healthy to qualify under the current priority categories of the state of Washington for the distribution of vaccines.
One woman picked from the crowd at UW Medical Center-Northwest, Tyson Greer, 77, said she had been waking up for more than a week at 1 a.m. or 3 p.m. to go online for sought-after vaccinations search. She finally got a shot at 1 a.m. Friday.
Many of the staff members who work at the vaccination clinic have been at work since 07:00 on Thursday, said Keri Nasenbeny, co-head nurse.
When she heard about the freezer, she called several nurses who in turn recruited pharmacists and other volunteers. It looks like a firefighter in Seattle showed up out of nowhere to help, and a hospital staff’s boyfriend helped drive the queue.
Those who received the vaccine were appreciative. Sarah Leyden, 57, received reports that her wife, a hairdresser, had heard from a nurse client. “I was just lucky,” Leyden said.
Anyone who received a first shot on Thursday night will also receive the second shot in the two-dose scheme, regardless of age, said Cassie Sauer, president of the Washington State Hospital Association.