1,900 coronavirus vaccine doses wasted
Nearly 2,000 Moderna vaccine doses were wasted at the Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center after a freezer plug was knocked loose by a contractor who accidentally removed it while cleaning.
“I just want to reassure the veterans that there’s no disruption of our vaccination efforts,” said VA Boston Healthcare System Director Vincent Ng.
Pharmacy staff noticed the freezer, which was located in a secure area, had failed on Tuesday and 1,900 Moderna doses had gone bad, according to spokesman Kyle Toto.
U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch visited the medical center on Friday and said a six-inch pipe had burst a couple weeks ago and affected three floors of the building including the pharmacy where vaccines are kept.
Outside contractors working on the flooding cleanup pulled a large Thermo Scientific freezer on rollers out to clean behind it and the plug came loose, causing the doses to spoil.
The freezer’s wireless alarm system failed, according to Ng, who said he is looking further into why it didn’t operate. He said the alarm has been reactivated and tested, and a bracket has been installed over the plug to the freezer.
Unthawed Moderna doses have to be used within six hours.
Replenishment doses are expected to arrive next week, said Ng, and can be reallocated through the VA’S national system.
Ng said the alarm system and the temperature of the freezers at the Brockton and West Roxbury Veterans Affairs locations are being checked every hour to ensure another such error doesn’t happen.
Lynch said, “We’ve taken every reasonable precaution to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”
He added, “When there’s human involvement, you can’t eliminate the possibility of error but I think they’ve done everything they can possibly do thus far.”
Lynch said he has asked the inspector general to do a walkthrough of the facility, which could happen as soon as Friday night. He said there were no sinister intentions behind the wasted doses.
The incident comes as the country is experiencing a shortage in vaccine supply.
Ron Martin, a VA patient who went to the medical center on Friday to get a coronavirus vaccine said, “It’s unfortunate because, you know, people are waiting for this for a long time and it’s crucial that we get it out.”
The VA was still able to vaccinate patients on Friday and had given shots to 160 patients, according to Ng.
Paul Hapenny, another VA patient who was at the medical center for an appointment said, “We don’t need any mistakes and that’s 1,900 doses that won’t be put into people’s arms to help them mitigate against this process.”
This isn’t the first time coronavirus vaccine doses have gone to waste in Massachusetts and across the country. Doses have been tossed out at major Boston teaching hospitals, Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health recently told the Herald. And last month a handful of Moderna doses were wasted at Brockton Neighborhood Health Center when some workers didn’t show up.
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