Nearly 2,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine are spoiled after the cleaner accidentally disconnected the freezer from the VA facility in Boston, as the number of drugs arriving in Massachusetts drops more than 70 percent this week
- The Veteran Affairs Boston Pharmacy team found on Tuesday that a freezer on the Jamaica Plain campus failed
- Failure ruined 1,900 doses of the vaccine
- A freezer plug was released after a contractor ‘accidentally removed it during cleaning’
- While the freezer was in ‘a safe place’ and had an alarm system installed, an investigation will investigate why the monitoring system did not work
- After removal from refrigeration, vaccines remain viable at room temperature for up to 12 hours
- The facility’s spokesman said replacement doses were in progress
Nearly 2,000 doses of Moderna vaccines have spoiled at the Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center in Boston, as the number of vaccine doses reaching Massachusetts has dropped by more than 70 percent.
The Veteran Affairs Boston Pharmacy team found on Tuesday that a freezer on the Jamaica Plain campus failed, a spokesman confirmed with NBC Boston. The failure ruined 1,900 doses of the vaccine.
According to the spokesman, a plug from the freezer was released after a contractor ‘accidentally removed it during cleaning’.
While the freezer was in a ‘safe place’ and had an alarm system installed, an investigation will investigate why the monitoring system did not work.
The Veteran Affairs Boston Pharmacy team found on Tuesday that a freezer on the Jamaica Plain campus failed
The Modern vaccine must be shipped and stored at -4 degrees Fahrenheit for up to six months.
It can be preserved at regular refrigeration temperatures – between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit – for 30 days.
After being removed from refrigeration, vaccines remain viable at room temperature for up to 12 hours.
Failure ruined 1,900 doses of the vaccine
The Modern vaccine must be shipped and stored at -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 degrees Celsius) for up to six months. It can be preserved at regular refrigeration temperatures – between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit – for 30 days. After being removed from refrigeration, vaccines remain viable at room temperature for up to 12 hours.
The facility’s spokesman said replacement doses are in progress, saying the VA does not ‘anticipate interrupting our vaccination effort’.
But this week the number of doses sent to Massachusetts fell 73% this week, according to the Department of Public Health. They received only 52,225 doses of the vaccine.
The latest MA vaccine report shows that 86,230 doses were administered this week, bringing the total doses administered in the state to 359,919.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced actions aimed at dramatically expanding vaccine production and distribution – to further his goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in his first 100 days in office.
The actions and orders are the beginning of an effort to reform the government’s policy to expel the vaccine, with 400,000 Americans already succumbing to COVID-19, and new mutations are already spreading in the country.
The plan will see 100 federal vaccination centers in large venues, such as convention centers and stadiums and states, also reimbursed for installing their own.
Some major cities are already installing the centers, including Miami, New York and Los Angeles, but 100 federal websites will spread the idea across the country.
And manufacturers will be required, according to the Defense Production Law, to produce vaccine materials, from ingredients to needles, where there is a shortage, as well as to produce protective equipment, such as N95 masks.
Biden also depends on Congress to provide $ 1.9 trillion for economic relief and COVID-19 response.
There is a litany of complaints from states that say they are not getting enough vaccine, even when they are being asked to vaccinate a wider range of Americans.
More than 35.9 million doses have been manufactured, but only about half – 16.5 million – have been distributed, according to a CDC tracker.