By Wendy Osher
An estimated 1,386 doses of Pfizer vaccine were compromised and eventually thrown away on Maui after a refrigerator door was discovered not to seal properly.
The incident took place on Monday and the refrigerator is currently being repaired; but future doses will be stored in an alternate location, according to Maui Health.
“Our team immediately contacted Pfizer and it was determined that the vials needed to be removed from the clinic and properly disposed of,” said Tracy Dallarda, Maui Health / Maui Memorial Medical Center spokesperson, noting that the Ministry of Health and partners of the Healthcare Association of Hawai’i were also notified.
“We appreciate Maui Health for taking immediate corrective action and for being transparent about what happened. We recognize that each vaccine has different storage requirements and it is a challenge for any healthcare provider to set up large vaccinations from the start. We know the Maui Health team is committed to protecting the people of Maui and is working to vaccinate their communities as soon as possible, ”said Hilton Raethel, HAH president and CEO.
The State Department of Health confirmed that they were made aware of the incident in Maui today. The vaccine loss is the largest to date in the state, although a total of 2,400 doses have been lost since the vaccine was given. According to the DOH, the remaining 1,014 doses have been lost in separate incidents across the state since mid-December.
“The vast majority, or 881, of those 1,014 doses were lost when a vial or syringe was broken. Other doses were not administered after a vial had been opened or the vaccine drawn into a syringe but not administered, ”said DOH spokesperson Brooks Baehr.
The more than 1000 doses lost in incidents in the state represent less than 0.2% of the doses administered in Hawai’i. “In other words, less than two doses per 1,000 vaccines administered had been lost prior to this unfortunate incident on Maui,” said Baehr.
Maui Health primarily administers the Pfizer vaccine, which must be stored at an ultra-low temperature. When the hospital launched, an ultra-low freezer was donated by the University of Hawai’i Maui College for safe storage at the right temperatures. According to Maui Health, the vaccine is safely locked in the ultra-low freezer until it needs to be transferred to a refrigerator, where it is thawed and prepped for the week’s appointments at the clinic.
Meanwhile, Maui Health claims there are enough supplies of the vaccine to continue its vaccination efforts and that all current and future appointments will remain as planned.
“We want to assure our community that our vaccination efforts are uninterrupted and in fact we are working to expand those efforts, including more clinic hours and hosting pop-ups across the island,” said Mike Rembis, CEO of Maui Health . .
According to Maui Health, COVID-19 vaccination clinics are continuing this week with thousands of appointments scheduled at the Maui Memorial Medical Center Main Lobby clinic and their Kīhei clinic.
To date, Maui Health has administered more than 25,000 vaccines to Maui residents and will be on Lāna’i this Saturday to further assist in their vaccination efforts. “Maui Health will also soon announce a new, expanded site that will allow for a further increase in vaccination efforts,” said Dallarda.
In Maui, the DOH reports that 22.9 percent (36,047) of the population has received a first dose of the vaccine; 10.4 percent (15,718) completed two doses; and an additional 1,522 doses (of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine) have been started and completed. In total, Maui County administered 53,287 doses on a total population basis of 167,417.