One vial of Moderna Inc. Covid-19 vaccine.
Photographer: Eduardo Munoz / Reuters / Bloomberg
Photographer: Eduardo Munoz / Reuters / Bloomberg
At least three consignments of Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Texas last week with signs that the vaccines had strayed from their required temperature range, leading to a delay in other deliveries, according to the association of state hospitals.
Some shipments of Moderna vaccine that were scheduled for delivery last week, before the Christmas holiday, were withheld because of temperature problems, said Carrie Kroll, vice president for defense, quality and public health at the Texas Hospital Association. It was not clear how many doses were affected overall.
The affected shipments have been replaced by the federal government and others have been withheld by US officials because of a potential problem with their temperature sensors, Kroll said. Moderna’s vaccine must be kept frozen for shipping and storage.
Temperature problems underscore how the United States faced obstacles in its effort to vaccinate 20 million Americans by the end of the year, a goal that appears to be out of reach. As of Monday, only 2.13 million people had received injections, although 11.45 million doses of vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE had been distributed.
Read more: Vaccinations in the US at 200,000 a day, far below ‘warp speed’
A spokesperson for Moderna referred questions to the federal government and McKesson Corp., which is distributing Modern vaccines.
Spokesmen for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and McKesson said they were investigating the matter. Spokesmen for Operation Warp Speed, the federal vaccine program, did not respond to several requests for comment.
Texas Department of Health Services officials confirmed that doses were postponed, but did not directly answer questions about temperature problems.
“Some of the week 2 shipments were delayed and were not received by suppliers until Monday and Tuesday this week,” said Lara Anton, a spokeswoman for the Texas State Department of Health Services, by email. The delay contributed to the appearance that Texas administered a relatively small portion of the vaccine doses allocated to the state.
Kroll, the hospital association official, said that hospitals are now receiving some doses that were expected a week ago, but the numbers in the states’ vaccine distribution do not reflect the delay.
Other reporting problems can make it appear that Texas medical providers are administering fewer injections than in reality, she said. Some hospital systems have had problems with the data system the state uses to track immunizations, she said. The photos they administer are not registered correctly in the central system and the discrepancies need to be resolved on a case-by-case basis.
“It will look like there is a vaccine on the shelf when it is actually administered,” said Kroll.
– With the help of Joe Carroll