More than 1,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses were spoiled, Florida health officials say
The Florida Department of Health has announced an audit of the Palm Beach County Health Care District after district officials reported that more than 1,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been spoiled.
The district blames the incident on human error after a vaccine refrigerator at a mobile unit was unintentionally turned off, CNN affiliate WPBF reported. Health care district CEO Darcy Davis said the compromised vaccine has been destroyed, according to WPBF.
In a statement, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees said it was “a tragedy that even one dose of this critical resource would go to waste and not be used to save a life from Covid-19.”
Rivkees said he hopes to see the situation addressed and rectified immediately to ensure that Palm Beach County does not allow any more doses to go to waste.
Across the US, nearly 34 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with more than 27 million people having received at least one dose — or just over 8% of the population. About 6.4 million people have received both doses, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Around 70% to 85% of the US population should be fully vaccinated before the country can begin to return to a sense of normalcy, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN on Tuesday night.
As a part of the Palm Beach County audit, the health department is asking the district to perform a full accounting of all vaccine-related equipment and procedures it has in place.
The Florida Department of Health has requested that the audit be completed by February 12 — and that all findings and corrective actions be reported to the state immediately after its conclusion, according to a Wednesday news release.
