Power Outage In Lakewood Causes 165 Doses Of COVID Vaccine To Be Thrown Out
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4)- A power outage caused by high winds impacted the supply of COVID-19 vaccine in Colorado. A total of 165 doses had to be thrown out after the brief, overnight power outage at the Kaiser Permanente Lakewood Medical Office.
The outage triggered a refrigerator storing some doses of Moderna coronavirus vaccine to temporarily stop working. That caused the vaccines to exceed the recommended storage temperature as required. Staff at Kaiser Permanente notified state health officials immediately and quickly administered as many doses of the vaccine as possible.
That included vaccinating staff, physicians and members. They were able to administer 135 doses. Unfortunately, 165 doses were not able to be used. The doses administered were safe, according to recommendations from the Moderna vaccine manufacturer.
The power has since been restored to the facility and refrigerator. The refrigerator used to store the Moderna vaccines is once again working properly.
The Moderna vaccine needs to be stored at a temperature of between -13°F and 5°F, according to the CDC.