COVID Vaccine Freezer Fails At NorCal Hospital, Forcing Emergency Distribution
UKIAH, Mendocino County (CBS SF) -- A freezer holding the entire ration of COVID vaccines for Mendocino County failed Monday, requiring an emergency distribution of the 850 doses before they thawed out, according to a report.
The Mendocino Voice reported the Moderna vaccines had been stored at Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Medical Center in Ukiah in a special freezer. The hospital's chief medical officer told The Voice that the freezer's power had died sometime Monday morning and that an alarm to alert hospital staff of such a failure did not go off.
Doctors immediately realized that they would need to distribute all 850 doses immediately or else they would thaw and become unviable, the report said. Hospital staff began making phone calls, sending texts to get staffers to come in to receive the vaccine.
In addition, nursing home workers, clinicians, and members of the general public were able to get the vaccine on a first-come-first-serve basis after lining up outside the hospital, The Voice reported. All the doses were administered in a couple of hours and people left in line had to be turned away.
Those who did receive the vaccine will be contacted at a future date to receive a required second dose.
