WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — More than 1,100 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were spoiled in Palm Beach County after someone turned off a refrigerator, according to reports.
Palm Beach County health care district staff discovered the unusable 232 Pfizer vials containing about 1,160 doses during a quality assurance check on Jan. 22, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The newspaper, citing a news release, reports someone had cut power to the refrigerator. All vials were "safely secured for destruction," it said.
It's believed "human error" is to blame for the spoiled doses. Officials said measures were taken, including using a generator, to ensure vaccines are stored at required cold temperatures.
"The Health Care District immediately implemented additional layers of quality control measures in its vaccine cold chain management to maintain the integrity of all vaccine supply moving forward," reads a statement by the district, according to WPTV-TV. "One of the additional safeguards includes centralizing all vaccine supplies daily at a secure location with 24/7 power generator back-up."
Following the reported damage, the Department of Health called for an audit of the county's care district on Feb. 3. It's an action Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis supports.
"I think it's 100 percent appropriate to do. We know there are certain storage requirements with these," DeSantis said before outlining the storage process. "People are very conscious about that by-and-large, so I think we need to get answers on that."
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