Vaccine Rescue

The COVID vaccine rollout continues to stumble forward as the nation looks forward to spring, and the shelf-life of the vaccine continues to be a concern. Every vaccine lost is a missed opportunity to potentially save a life, which is why when Springfield, Vermont officials stored vaccines at a higher than normal temperature, worries abounded that the vaccines would not be able to be administered.

But the 860 COVID Vaccines that were thought to be spoiled can be used in Vermont after all. The vaccines were incorrectly classified as being spoiled due to discrepancies with three of the sensors being used to monitor the temperatures of the vaccines. Had the vaccines been thrown out as intended, Vermont would have lost nearly 1% of its vaccines, slowing down the distribution of the vaccine to all Vermont residents. The doses were originally thought to be unusable as they were being stored at 9 degrees celsius, while the intended storage temperature was between 2-8 degrees celsius.

After a further review of the temperature sensor the Vermont Department of State Health stated that the doses of the vaccine were in fact, not, “impacted by temperature inconsistencies and [could] be used with full public confidence”..” The decision to not discard the 860 doses came just one day after the doses were originally ordered to be tossed out. This conclusion came after several hour-long discussions between the state of Vermont and Moderna, with Moderna saying that the doses “are effective and safe for use.”

The aforementioned discrepancies came about after the storage temperatures were being recorded within range in Springfield, but at a higher temperature at the state level. When asked about the matter, lifelong Vermont resident Glenn Gunther had this to say, “It’s good that those doses didn’t go to waste, and hopefully it means we can get vaccinated a little sooner.”

Vermont continues to make effective use of their vaccine doses, with only 99 doses being wasted or unusable, out of a total of 98,800 received vaccine doses. The salvation of the 860 doses couldn’t come sooner as Vermont has been getting hit hard by the pandemic in the last few months. 10% of Vermont residents have already been vaccinated for the virus, but in today’s climate, every dose counts.

By Colby Gunther

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