1,300-plus coronavirus vaccine doses wasted in Massachusetts. Here’s where they got tossed

The state continues to report vaccine doses are being wasted.

Hundreds are being tossed at jails and urgent care centers, according to state data obtained by the Herald.

A total of 1,110 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 203 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were reported as wasted — for a total of 1,313 doses as of Feb. 10, state Department of Public Health data show. The Herald received the data through a public records request.

The 1,313 doses is an increase of 41 wasted doses from five days earlier. The wasted doses are self-reported by vaccine providers.

These providers include: the Suffolk County House of Correction reporting 100 wasted doses; Reliant Medical Group in Milford reporting 100 wasted doses; and CareWell Urgent Care in Billerica reporting 100 wasted doses.

Some other providers reporting wasted doses were: Hampden County Correctional Center (80); UMass Boston Health (70); St. Luke’s Hospital (53); Brockton Regional Kidney Center (50); Boston Medical Center (43); Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth (41); and Massachusetts General Hospital (25).

The 1,313 total does not include the nearly 2,000 doses that were wasted at the Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center last month. That’s because VA doses are not under the state DPH’s purview. The VA doses belong to the federal government and are allocated and tracked by the federal government.

The Moderna vaccine must be stored within the minus 15 degrees Celsius to minus 50 degrees Celsius range, while the Pfizer vax must be stored in ultra-cold range (minus 60 degrees Celsius to minus 80 degrees Celsius).

Once a vial of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine has been entered, it must be used within six hours, according to the state Department of Public Health website. Any vaccine remaining in the vial after six hours must be discarded.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3bf7ZnA