Wearing bathrobes, pajamas, or anything else they could wear quickly, hundreds of people flocked to get Covid vaccines in Seattle on Thursday night after a refrigerator that was freezing 1,600 doses broke, leading to a frantic campaign night vaccination.
Improvised vaccinations started after a refrigerator did not work well at a Kaiser Permanente hospital in Seattle, which meant Modern vaccines had to be injected quickly or become less effective and had to be thrown away. Health officials contacted two other hospital systems in the city, and an urgent call was made around 11 pm, alerting residents that they had a rare chance of getting vaccines if they could come immediately.
“We need to put these 1,600 doses in people’s arms over the next 12 hours,” said Susan Mullaney, Kaiser regional president for Washington, in a virtual press conference on Friday, describing the convocation of the hospital.
Within minutes, there were long lines outside at least two medical centers, and by 3:30 am, vaccines had been administered, hospital officials said.
In interviews with local television stations, patients who arrived said they were relaxing at home, washing dishes or watching the news, when they saw that they suddenly had a chance to receive an injection. One couple said their daughter called after they were in bed to say she had scheduled them for an appointment at 1 am.
“We didn’t have time to dress well, so I came as I am,” said the mother, pointing to her husband, who was in a bathrobe.
The situation in Seattle was just the last case where a failure in the inoculation process forced health officials to give vaccines to anyone they found. He also highlights the challenge posed by the two vaccines that have been approved so far in the United States – both need to be kept cool. Earlier this week, health workers trapped in a snowstorm in Oregon drove from car to car, asking trapped drivers if they wanted an injection, after realizing that the doses they were carrying could expire while waiting on the highway.
Seattle hospital officials told local media that they tried to prioritize older patients and others who were already eligible for vaccines in the state, but said their first priority was to distribute all vaccines before they expired.
“We are tired, but we are inspired,” said Kevin Brooks, director of operations for Swedish Health Services, one of the two hospitals that administered the vaccines, in a statement. “It was exciting to see grandparents in wheelchairs at 2 am being vaccinated.”
Ms. Mullaney, Kaiser’s regional president, said that all refrigerators and freezers at the Seattle site have been tested and are working properly.