A pharmacist discovered on Tuesday night that a refrigeration unit at the Soka University site containing vials of the Pfizer vaccine was operating slightly outside the recommended temperature range.
This triggered precautionary measures, as the site reserved the daily stock of doses. For much of Wednesday, it was unclear whether part or all of that day’s supply would have to be discarded.
The Aliso Viejo website normally distributes about 3,000 doses of the vaccine per day.
This was particularly worrying at a time when vaccine supplies remain limited and in high demand, as the coronavirus continues to infect thousands of people every day throughout California – and as new, more contagious variants become more prevalent in the state.
But at the end of the day news came that brought a sigh of relief: after consulting the manufacturer, they determined that the issue of refrigeration was not enough to impair the doses and could still be distributed.
“After reviewing the details, the manufacturer reported that the temperature variation did not impair the safety or efficacy of the vaccine and provided confirmation that the vaccine is safe for administration under the normal protocol,” said county officials in a written statement. .
Although the doses in question have been booked, additional doses have been brought in and all scheduled appointments have been met, officials said.
The Soka website, which opened on January 23, is what the county refers to as a super POD or dispensation point, capable of thousands of consultations in a single day.
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From last week’s data, the county administered the first doses of the vaccine to more than 196,000 people and the second doses to about 46,000.
Information on vaccinations and scheduling appointments for Orange County is available here at Othena.com.
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