As COVID-19 vaccines expire, healthcare professionals scramble to make sure they are used – Boston News, Weather, Sports

(CNN) — Mechanical failure. bad weather. expiration date. In the early stages of distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine, doctors, nurses, and health authorities may be struggling to inoculate Americans.

In the worst case, valuable doses were wasted or discarded. However, a mixture of quick thinking by practitioners and a bit of luck turned out to be that they were vaccinated in a unique situation.

After a freezer containing vaccine doses broke down in Seattle on Thursday night, a nearby hospital took less than nine hours to vaccinate more than 800 times before it rotted. Pfizer-BioTech and Moderna vaccines require certain low temperatures for storage and have a limited shelf life when exposed to room temperature.

The Swedish Health Service told CNN that it quickly registered qualified recipients with a quick notification via social media. Volunteers from clinical and non-clinical hospitals gathered to run the site.

“The vaccine wasn’t wasted last night,” spokesman Tiffany Moss told CNN on Friday.

The Swedes weren’t the only ones to help the night. Additional supplies from the broken freezer flowed to the University of Washington, where staff and volunteers vaccinated at two centers. by CNN series KOMO.

In the face of a complete loss of vaccine supply, clever solutions and swift action by healthcare professionals across the country have benefited them in the right place and at the right time.

Only while the supply continues

A California hospital found that the freezer storing the Moderna vaccine was broken, similar to its recovery on Thursday in Seattle on January 4.

Officials at the Adventist Health Yukaia Valley Medical Center in Mendoshino County told CNN after a safety check, About 2 hours Administer 800 times or more.

“It was our main focus to ensure that all vaccines were in all arms,” ​​Adventist Health executive Judson Howe told CNN. “We contacted the county public health officer to inform them of the situation. The joint approach allowed us to administer all 830 vaccines in 2 hours.”

“In reality, we faced a difficult situation and didn’t mean to waste the vaccine,” Howe said.

Approximately 200 doses were given to the county, 70 to skilled nursing facilities and the rest to four clinics, prioritized according to state guidelines, said medical officer Dr. Bessant Parker. ..

“This was an emergency, so we focused on as many people as we could quickly mobilize within the hierarchy, and the rest on a first-come, first-served basis,” Parker said.

In Oregon, Josephine County Public Health Service workers returned from a mass vaccination clinic on Tuesday. left behind In their car in a snowstorm.

According to the Ministry of Health, the group had six remaining doses of the vaccine. To prevent those doses from becoming unused before they expired, workers went from car to car to give people the opportunity to take shots.

According to the Department of Health, workers found six takers, including a sheriff’s clerical worker who was planning to attend a previous mass vaccination event but was stuck in the snow. We monitored nearby ambulances in case the recipient experienced side effects.

Wasted opportunity

Other situations on earth have not had the same success.

Approximately 2,000 doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine stored in a Boston hospital freezer on January 22 Dangered After a cleaner accidentally unplugs the freezer. The alarm system installed did not work as expected.

In Ohio, the Ministry of Health announced on January 20 that it would suspend allocations to Columbus vaccine providers after nearly 900 doses were wasted due to improper transport. Investigations have begun on concerns that freezing temperatures are not well monitored.

According to the State Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the shipment of 4,400 doses to Maine on January 18 was initially considered out of the proper temperature range. Ongoing investigations by vaccine distributors later determined that the doses may still be available, as they may have been stored cold rather than too warm.

Another reported failure may have been intentional. In December, a Wisconsin pharmacist was fired and later arrested. Delete Vaccine vials from storage, making them useless. Investigators believed that the man had removed the vaccine “knowing that the vaccine was not available,” according to a statement.

With growing dissatisfaction from the governor and local civil servants Vaccine deploymentSome say that the need to protect all doses remains essential.

California Health and Welfare Director Mark Garry earlier this month necessity For each vaccine used when oversupply is available, even for recipients outside the highest layers of need.

“I just want to say that vaccines shouldn’t be wasted,” Ghaly said. “We know that our providers and those in charge of vaccination are very thoughtful and innovative people, and they have access to individuals at those higher risk levels. And they are ours. We should do everything we can to ensure that the vaccine is given to the priority groups and those who are considered to be at the highest risk based on our faces and tears. “

“But don’t waste your vaccine.”

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