1,000 doses of shot spoiled in Palm Beach County.

More than 1,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine spoiled in Palm Beach County last week after a refrigerator lost power in a mobile vaccine unit run by the healthcare district.

The rotten doses were discovered during a standard quality assurance check on Jan. 22, when

Palm Beach County healthcare district staff found 232 vials (about 1,160 doses) at an unsafe temperature in the refrigerator, according to a news release issued Friday.

The vaccine had been stored after the first day of operations at a vaccination site. Due to miscommunication, the generator to the mobile unit was not set to provide power through the night, according to the healthcare district.

It’s unclear why the information was not announced for one full week. It was announced the same day the state said it would send 5,000 more COVID-19 doses to the county’s healthcare district after public outcry about access to vaccines in Palm Beach County.

The decision came days after public officials lambasted Gov. Ron DeSantis for relying on Publix to distribute vaccines in Palm

Beach County. The move left many residents, most of them poor, with no way to get protected, they said.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Friday that poor, largely Black communities in many of Florida’s metro areas have limited access to Publix pharmacies. The 5,000 additional doses are to be allocated to communities that don’t have a Publix pharmacy.

After the refrigeration error last week, the healthcare district confirmed with the vaccine manufacturer that the vaccine was not usable. The vials were “safely secured for destruction,” the statement says.

The district said no vaccination appointments were affected by the incident.

To prevent the same human error in the future, the healthcare district will centralize vaccine supplies daily at a secure location with 24/7 power generator backup, according to the statement.

The district said it has so far received 12,675 doses of Pfizer vaccine and vaccinated 13,600 individuals by drawing additional doses from the vials.