A vial of Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine.
Photographer: Eduardo Munoz / Reuters / Bloomberg
Photographer: Eduardo Munoz / Reuters / Bloomberg
Minimum of three shipments of Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Texas last week with signs the shots had strayed from the required temperature range, leading to a delay in other deliveries, the state hospital association said.
Some shipments of Moderna vaccines due to be delivered last week, before the Christmas holidays, were held back due to the temperature issues, said Carrie Kroll, vice president of advocacy, quality and public health at the Texas Hospital Association. It was unclear how many doses were affected overall.
The affected shipments were replaced by the federal government, and others were stopped by US officials due to a possible problem with their temperature sensors, Kroll said. Moderna’s vaccine must be kept frozen before shipping and storage.
The temperature issues underscore how the U.S. has faced obstacles in its efforts to get 20 million Americans vaccinated by the end of the year, a goal that appears to be out of range. As of Monday, only 2.13 million people had received injections, although 11.45 million doses of the vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have been distributed.
Read more: Vaccinations in the US at 200,000 a day are far behind ‘Warp Speed’
A Moderna spokesperson referred questions to the federal government and McKesson Corp., which distributes Moderna vaccines.
Spokesmen for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and McKesson said they were investigating the matter. Spokesmen for Operation Warp Speed, the federal vaccine program, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Texas Department of State Health Services officials confirmed that the doses had been delayed, but did not immediately respond to questions about the temperature issues.
“Some shipments for week 2 were delayed and were not received by providers until Monday and Tuesday of this week,” Lara Anton, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services, said in an email. The delay contributed to Texas administering a relatively small fraction of the vaccine doses assigned to the state.
Kroll, the hospital association official, said hospitals were just now getting some doses expected a week ago, but the numbers in the states’ vaccination allocations do not reflect the delay.
Other reporting issues can make it seem like Texas medical providers are delivering fewer shots than they actually are, she said. Some hospital systems have had issues with the data system the state uses to track immunizations, she said. Shots they take are not properly logged in the central system and the discrepancies must be resolved on a case-by-case basis.
“It will look like there is a vaccine on the shelf when it is actually administered,” said Kroll.
– With help from Joe Carroll