Fifty vials of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine had to be thrown away in Wisconsin last weekend due to “ human error. ”
TMJ4 Milwaukee, a local NBC-affiliated station, reported that the incident occurred at an Advocate Aurora Health clinic in Grafton, Wisconsin, when an employee removed the bottles from a storage freezer to dispose of another item. The employee then mistakenly did not return the bottles to the freezer.
“We have learned that about 50 vials of Moderna vaccine were accidentally removed from a pharmacy refrigerator overnight,” an Advocate Aurora spokesperson told TMJ4. “Although some of the vaccine was administered to team members on December 26 within the approved 12-hour period after refrigeration, unfortunately most of it had to be discarded due to the temperature storage required to maintain viability.”
The spokesperson added, “We are clearly disappointed and regret that this has happened.”
While it does not need to be stored in the extreme freezing temperatures that the Pfizer vaccine requires, the Moderna vaccine should be stored at temperatures between minus 13 degrees and 5 degrees Fahrenheit or at temperatures between 36 F and 46 F for up to 30 degrees. days before it must be thrown away.
In its fact sheet on the Moderna vaccine, the Food and Drug Administration notes that the specific requirements of the vaccine are due to the fact that the drug contains no preservatives and the particles in it are very fragile. Once thawed, the vaccine cannot be refrozen.
Like Pfizer’s vaccine, Moderna immunization is administered in two doses approximately one month apart. Each vial contains multiple doses.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 100,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 84,825 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been assigned to the state. According to the most recent data from the department, 10,358 vaccines have been administered to date.