After freezer fails, medical workers rush to give out 1,600 COVID-19 vaccines at midnight

Registered pharmacist fills a dead volume syringe with the COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up vaccination site in William Reid Apartments in Brooklyn, New York City, U.S., January 23, 2021. Image: Mary Altaffer/Pool via Reuters

Medical workers in the United States made a mad dash to administer 1,600 COVID-19 vaccines hours before they expired.

A freezer unit at a Kaiser Permanente medical center in Seattle, Washington, failed at 8:50 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28. Medical staff wanted to make sure they were distributed before they expired at 5:30 a.m., KOMO reported on Friday, Jan. 29.

Kaiser Permanente tapped Swedish Medical Center and the University of Washington to reach people eligible for the vaccine. People over 65 and first responders were prioritized.

By 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, an emergency plan was set. Word quickly got out on Thursday night that there was an emergency vaccine rollout, thanks to social media and local TV stations.

By 11 p.m., the medical center was able to welcome hundreds of people who had lined up for the vaccines. Even at 3 a.m., people were still getting inoculated.

Thankfully, none of the 1,600 Moderna vaccine doses went to waste, the Seattle Times reported on Friday, Jan. 29.

About 800 people received the vaccine at the Swedish clinic, while another 800 were administered at the two clinics of the University of Washington.

Kaiser Permanente has reassured that it is safely housing several thousand more doses of the vaccine in other freezer units and that vaccination appointments of its members can still go as planned. Niña V. Guno/JB

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