(Newser)
– A freezer containing the Modern coronavirus vaccine was in a safe place at a VA pharmacy in Boston, with an alarm system activated. On Tuesday, reports ABC, employees realized that the freezer was not working. “The plug was found loose after a contractor accidentally removed it during cleaning,” said a spokesman for the VA Boston Healthcare System. “As a result, 1,900 doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine stored in the freezer were compromised.”
Authorities said they did not expect the disaster to affect vaccination schedules. “Replacement doses are in progress,” said the spokesman. An investigation began by NBC as to why the freezer alarm and the monitoring system did not alert anyone. The Modern vaccine has to be kept cold, but the very low temperatures have destroyed a shipment of nearly 12,000 doses en route to Michigan this month, according to NBC. (A freezer failure in California left a hospital two hours to administer its vaccine.)