About 1,000 Swedes received injections of Moderna Covid-19 that were kept very cold during transport, the company responsible for deliveries, Apoteket AB, said on Friday.
A total of 2,100 doses of the vaccine made in the United States that were kept very cold in transit were delivered to the regions of Gävleborg, Halland, Värmland, Dalarna and Östergötland, said a government spokesman.
The Swedish Public Health Agency said there is no risk for those receiving the Modern vaccine, but has stopped the launch and is investigating whether keeping doses too cold could affect the vaccine’s effectiveness.
“We apologize for what happened and consider it an accident,” said Deputy Head of Health for the Gävleborg region, Tina Mansson Söderlund, who also pledged to investigate the incident.
Also at rt.com
EU says it will seek ‘clarification’ from Pfizer after further delays in Covid-19 vaccine
“The worst that can happen is that the vaccine is ineffective and then we will offer new vaccines.” she added.
The government’s main epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, told Dagens Nyheter that an initial assessment of the situation was that those who received the affected doses are not in danger.
“Unfortunately, the supplier made a mistake and delivered the vaccine very cold, that is, at the same level as it would have done with the Pfizer vaccine,” He explained. “The modern vaccine was not made to be moved cold.
In some regions, all delivered doses of the Moderna vaccine have been administered, while some regions have not yet exhausted all their doses and are now storing their vaccines, pending investigation.
Also at rt.com
Nearly 900 doses of Modern vaccine WASTED by Ohio provider, health department suspends future allocations
The Modern vaccine can be stored at a temperature of -20C for six months, but is believed to be stable for 30 days at 2 to 8 degrees, while the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine should be stored at a colder temperature of -70C.
On January 17, about 146,000 people were vaccinated in Sweden, most of whom received the Pfizer vaccine.
Did you like this story? Share this with a friend!