More than 1,100 Covid vaccine doses destroyed after lab worker turns fridge off

More than 1,160 Covid vaccine doses have been destroyed after a lab worker accidentally turned off the refrigerator they were being stored in.

The employee had shut off the power supply to the fridge, causing the Pfizer 232 vials to degrade.

Workers noticed the power supply was off while conducting a "quality assurance check" on Friday morning at the Palm Beach County Health Care District in Florida.

To preserve the vaccines the doses must be stored at a temperature of -70 degrees Fahrenheit before being transferred to a regular fridge five days before use.

If exposed to lower temperatures the vaccines may become ineffective.

Palm Beach County officials released a statement surrounding the incident on Friday, reports Mail Online.

Officials said it was "a single, isolated incident caused by human error" that "had absolutely no impact on patient safety."

The vaccines had to be safely destroyed after they became damaged.

• 

  New coronavirus strains have different signs and symptoms – what to look out for

In a bid to avoid a similar incident again, Palm Beach County officials are now storing the jabs in a centralised fridge with a back up generator.

Last week it was reported staff working at Covid vaccine centres in the UK are being allowed to offer "spare" Pfizer jabs to friends and family.

The "friends and family list" is reportedly used to avoid any vaccine waste as it can only be stored for five days once thawed.

Friends and family members under 70 are understood to have been invited to get the jab at vaccine hubs in Buckinghamshire, South London, Kent and East Sussex.

A source told The Telegraph that staff working in Liverpool had even allegedly been allowed to give the vaccine to relatives and friends as young as 30.

However, according to the publication, a senior NHS source said anyone caught giving a vaccine to friends and family under 70 will face disciplinary action.

This is because the inoculation would go against Government guidelines and the step by step roll-out Boris Johnson announced.

Source: Read Full Article