State calls for audit after 1,100 shot doses spoil
After more than 1,100 COVID-19 vaccine doses were spoiled in Palm Beach County last week, the Florida Department of Health is calling for full audit into the mishap.
A standard check on Jan. 22, it was discovered that 1,160 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were spoiled after a refrigerator lost power in a mobile vaccine unit run by the Palm Beach County Health Care District.
On Wednesday, the Florida Department of Health asked the Palm Beach County Health Care District to perform a “full accounting of all vaccine-related equipment and procedures it has in place to store and handle the COVID-19 vaccine” and report all findings by Feb. 12.
“It is a tragedy that even one dose of this critical resource would go to waste and not be used to save a life from COVID-19,” Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said in a news release.
“While we must rely on partners to distribute this critical resource, we expect that every provider treat the vaccine as the precious commodity that it is. We hope to see this situation rectified and addressed immediately to ensure the Palm Beach County Health Care District does not let one more dose go to waste.”
The vaccine had been stored after the first day of operations at a Palm Beach County vaccination site. Due to miscommunication, the generator to the mobile unit was not set to provide power through the night, according to the health care district.
The audit follows the state’s decision to allocate 9,000 more doses of vaccine this week to the state
Department of Health in Palm Beach County and the Palm Beach County Health District.
Publix has been the county’s primary vaccine distributor, receiving the lion’s share of supply from the state. Public officials, however, lambasted Gov. DeSantis last week for the decision to have the giant grocer be the primary provider in Palm Beach County, saying it left many residents who don’t live near a Publix with no way to get protected.
After the outcry, the state announced Friday that it would allocate more vaccine doses in Palm Beach County for residents who don’t live near a Publix.