Someone removed about 50 vials of the Modern vaccine from refrigeration and did not return it to the cold.
An Advocate Aurora Health employee in Wisconsin removed dozens of vials of coronavirus vaccine from refrigeration and was unable to return them at low temperatures, causing them to be discarded.
The vials of Moderna vaccine were thrown away after “human error”, according to health center officials in Grafton.
“We learned that about 50 vials of Moderna vaccine were inadvertently removed from a pharmacy refrigerator overnight,” a spokesman told the local news channel TMJ4.
“Although part of the vaccine was administered to staff members on December 26 within the approved 12-hour post-cooling window,” continued the spokesman, “unfortunately, most of it had to be discarded due to storage requirements necessary to maintain its viability. “
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The health system said it vaccinated more than 17,000 members of its staff in less than two weeks.
“We are clearly disappointed,” said the spokesman, “and we are sorry that this has happened.”
According to the Food and Drug Administration information leaflet on the Modern vaccine, it does not contain a preservative and must be thawed before being administered. Once thawed, it cannot be refrozen. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines need to be refrigerated. However, the Modern vaccine does not require storage below zero and has a longer shelf life.
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The Wisconsin Department of Health and Human Services says it is in Phase 1A of the vaccine distribution guidelines, which means that only frontline health care providers, nursing staff and residents are currently being vaccinated.
Nearly 40,000 people in the state received the first doses of the vaccine.
It was observed that as the federal government distributes more doses to the states, these numbers increase.
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Moderna’s vaccine was approved for emergency distribution on December 18, just days after the approval of Pfizer vaccine.
In his announcement, FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn said: “Through the FDA’s open and transparent scientific review process, two COVID-19 vaccines were authorized in an accelerated timeframe, while adhering to the strict standards of safety, efficacy and manufacturing quality required to support the authorization of emergency use that the American people came to expect from the FDA. ”
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The dozens of vaccine bottles discarded due to ‘human error’ at the Wisconsin facility first appeared on TheGrio.